Pathways
by Tassos
Summary: COMPLETE: Farscape Stargate SG1 Crossover: SG1 ends up on a planet with a broken gate. Out of opitons, they must help a strange tentacled alien find the one man that can get them home.
1. Broken Doors

Pathways  
  
A Farscape/ Stargate Crossover  
  
By Tassos  
  
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, due to a fluke at birth, I own neither Moya and her crew nor the Stargate and its travelers. All characters will be returned - but as you know deep space is a dangerous place, so there are no guarantees as to their health.  
  
Spoilers: In the Farscape Universe, this is set just after Bad Timing, season 4, so everything is game. In the Stargate Universe, it's general season 7 before the cliffhangar, though you should know that I just started watching Stargate this summer.  
  
Additional Notes: For the moment, this story is self-beta read. If anyone wants the job, let me know. Also, I plan on having this finished by January1, 2004.  
  
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Section 1: Broken Doors  
  
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Colonel Jack O'Neill knew something was very wrong the minute he was spit out of the wormhole. Literally spit. With air beneath his feet and sky in front of his face, Jack flew head over heels, landing with a heavy, painful crash on a heap of metal.  
  
"Oww." That hurt. Carefully picking himself up, he looked around. Oh yeah, something was very wrong. "Carter."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Uh, Carter? Aren't there supposed to be trees?"  
  
Carter looked around as she tried to stand on the shifting metal she had landed on. Instead of the trees and calm landscape of a deserted planet brimming with natural resources, she saw only what could be described as a junkyard. Mountains of scrap heaps like the one they had landed on, surrounded them. Easily three stories high worth of twisted metal glittered next to parts that had succumbed to rust. Behind them, the stargate lay almost flat on the pile, the slope explaining their brief flight.  
  
"Carter?" O'Neill repeated.  
  
"We dialed the right gate, sir," the Major said defensively. "I don't know what went wrong."  
  
"Uh, Jack?" said Daniel nervously. "There doesn't seem to be a DHD here." Carter turned and made her way up to where Daniel crouched by the gate. Terrific.  
  
"Any way you can get that thing to work?" Jack asked following her.  
  
"Don't know yet, sir."  
  
"Let me know when you do." O'Neill let her and Daniel do their thing while he joined Teal'c in checking out their surroundings. They were about halfway up their particular scrap heap that undulated into peaks in either direction with no evidence of the ground, simply lower levels of junk. It was almost entirely metal, no garbage or bio-waste. Jack saw what looked like a smashed glider across from where he stood and a rusted train wreck not far from that.  
  
"Anything?" O'Neill glanced up at the two scientists by the 'gate who looked at each other before Sam shook her head.  
  
"There's no DHD," she said. "We might be able to find what we need here to hot-wire it," she gestured vaguely at the junk piles. "But we'll still need a power source."  
  
"Alright." Jack looked around again then nodded up the hill. "Let's go see if we can find out where we are first. Then we'll see about getting some batteries."  
  
The climb to the top was better than O'Neill had expected. There were enough larger chunks to get a solid foothold without slipping and twisting an ankle. A few short minutes later, Jack was standing on top of a wrecked car-like thing with Teal'c taking in the view. Below them, the junkyard continued for roughly a hundred feet in most directions before getting cut off by a high fence. Beyond, they were surrounded by a city. The area they were in was obviously low rent from the look of the grungy, squat buildings with visible repairs. There was a lot of foot traffic, interspersed with coughing vehicles heading away from the junkyard toward taller, more stable buildings farther off. The people were too distant to really distinguish whether they were human or not. All Jack could tell was that they were a pretty drab bunch dressed mostly in blacks and grays.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked the Jaffa next to him.  
  
"It appears we have found an advanced people," Teal'c pointed off to the right where a ship was entering the atmosphere. They watched it slow its descent and land like a hovercraft among the buildings somewhere.  
  
"They're advanced, and looking at the wrecks lying around, I'd say they're potentially dangerous, too," added Carter. "Most of them look like they were destroyed by weapons fire."  
  
"Anything familiar?" O'Neill asked.  
  
Carter shook her head. "They're definitely not Goa'uld," she said. "I've never seen systems like them. It looks like they use - "  
  
"Carter," O'Neill interrupted her before she got going. "So the General thinks we're on some harmless planet. We've got a broken gate, no way to start it, and a big city of unknown hostiles. Any suggestions?"  
  
"Jack, we can't judge the whole population by a few burn marks in a junkyard," said Daniel.  
  
"I knew you were going to say that," Jack sighed. He really didn't like this situation. "Alright kids, it looks like we're going to town." Hefting his weapon, the Colonel led the way down the other side of the metal mountain toward the fence. Once they were at the perimeter, it would be easier to find a gate into the city. The walk down was slower than the climb up since there weren't as many large parts to act as boulders. As they neared the fence, the mountains turned into rolling hills, getting smaller and more dangerous as they went. Jack kept a watchful eye out for any sign of life, specifically an alien version of an angry yard boss with a shotgun, but so far all was quiet.  
  
Until a loud crash of breaking glass sounded behind him. "Dammit," Daniel swore, one leg through a cockpit window that had given way beneath his weight. Jack quickly backtracked to where his friend was carefully extracting his leg.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously. He did not need Daniel hurt on top of everything, and if an artery had been cut . . .  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Daniel answered. "Really. See, no blood." Jack inspected the leg himself and there was blood, but just a few scratches, nothing life threatening.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again.  
  
"Jack," Daniel gave him one of his disapproving looks. "I'm fine."  
  
"Okay." He knew better than to push. Daniel was fine, and they had bigger things to worry about. With a pat on the back, O'Neill nodded to Carter and Teal'c then started back toward the fence.  
  
It only took about twenty minutes to finish their descent. The fence itself was made of iron bars and was about two stories high. On the other side, buildings leaned against it for support. And the stench . . . Jack tried not to think about all the rot and refuse that must be at home in the quarter. Yep, definitely the bad part of town.  
  
"Jack!" Daniel cried, leaping past his CO and dashing down the narrow path that ran along the fence.  
  
"Daniel, wait!" he called as he ran after the archaeologist, dreading what he had found, and then both surprised and not when it turned out to be a girl.  
  
"Oh God," said Daniel as he crouched beside the girl's body. Jack knelt beside him and checked for a pulse. There. Not in the right place, but steady all the same. Her skin was completely white as was her short hair. Blue blood oozed from cuts that covered her body along with a peppering of what had to be bruises. What was left of her clothing was torn and from the looks of it she had also been raped. She couldn't have been more than twenty.  
  
"She needs a doctor," said Carter joining them on the ground with the first aid kit. "If  
  
only we could get back to the SGC."  
  
"Well we can't," Jack replied, angry himself that they couldn't. Angry at the creatures that had tortured and left this little girl to die in a junkyard where no one would find her body. Ever.  
  
"We can't just leave her. We have to get her to a hospital or healer or whatever they have here," Daniel glanced up at Jack. The colonel looked back at the girl, not sure if it was worth it. They would be a man down carrying her, and she would probably be dead soon from her injuries.  
  
"Jack - "  
  
"Daniel - "  
  
"Jack, we are not leaving her here."  
  
O'Neill knew he was going to lose the argument if he even tried. "Daniel, once Carter gets her set, you carry her. Let's keep our eyes open, people. We don't want any nasty surprises."  
  
"I did not intend to close them, O'Neill," said Teal'c with a slight nod. Jack accepted the silent pledge with a nod of his own, then stood to get out of Carter's way. A few minutes later, they were ready to go again. The girl remained unconscious throughout.  
  
Following the path, it didn't take SG-1 long to find a gate to the outside world. It was unguarded and unlocked and led into a little courtyard filled with more machines and vehicles in various states of repair. O'Neill though it was deserted at first, but a sudden movement on his right caught his attention. As did the gun pointed at his chest two seconds later.  
  
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	2. Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Section 2: Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
  
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"Uh...hi." O'Neill was not happy, not happy at all. The alien stood about ten feet away from them. He, at least it looked like a he, was a little taller than Jack with long black hair set high on his head. Two eyes, a nose, and a mouth were where they were supposed to be on a pale white face that had brown lines sectioning it into pieces. A vertical bisector ran from his hair line to his throat, while horizontal lines ran over his check and jaw lines. Rather an ugly piece of work to look at.  
  
The alien garbled out a few words, glaring at the trespassers. His gun never wavered.  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine, Jack," the linguist replied. The alien spoke to them again, louder this time, gesturing at their own guns.  
  
"I think he wants us to put down our weapons, sir," said Carter.  
  
"Yeah, I can see that," Jack told her testily, running through options in his head. The gate out of the courtyard was a good twenty yards away. There was a chance they would make it, but with Daniel carrying the girl Jack didn't want to risk it unless they had to. Which it looked like they would with Mr. Fun-and-Games getting more agitated by the second. On the other hand, he hadn't shot them yet, and from the noise he was making it didn't look like he wanted to. Oh, Jack had no doubt that he would as soon as they tried anything, but for the moment they were okay.  
  
But as soon as Jack thought that, another alien stepped out of the building. Angrier than the first one.  
  
"Get ready to run," said Jack quietly, his eyes intent on the second alien as it stormed towards them . . . and cuffed the other one on the back of the head. The alien shouting got even louder as the two yelled at each other, ending in the second one angrily gesturing at SG-1 to leave already. Jack wasn't about to question orders. "Let's go."  
  
Jack brought up the rear as his team ran for the outside world. Not followed, they heaved a collective breath before turning to the world around them.  
  
The street beyond was about as bad as O'Neill had guessed from the junkyard. The streets of the slum, while not packed, were definitely not empty. People like the junkyard guys roamed in tattered clothing, jumping out of the way of the occasional car - it worked like a car anyway - that sputtered by. Grimy like the industrial side of any Earth city, the buildings looked like they were barely standing. Garbage and its smell littered the gutters, leaving little to the imagination about where it had come from. Even in the partly overcast daylight, the neighborhood was in shadows.  
  
No one seemed to take note of the five non-natives, or if they did, they didn't gaze long. Eyes slid off them like oil, too troubled by their own miseries to care about them.  
  
"Which way now?" asked Daniel as he glanced around to get his bearings.  
  
"I believe that way," Teal'c pointed across the street and to the right, "leads to the center of the city."  
  
"Then that's the way we'll go," O'Neill decided. He looked at the girl in Daniel's arms and hoped she would last till they found her some help. She still looked barely alive; the dressings Carter had put over her wounds were soaked in blue blood.  
  
The alley they followed to the center of the city led to another main street that led to another couple of dark alleys. Jack felt for sure someone was going to jump out and mug them, but no one did. The people on this planet obviously had learned to steer clear of strangers. He watched as Carter approached a woman in a doorway, but she shuffled off throwing suspicious glares over her shoulder before the Major could say anything.  
  
"I wonder why know one will talk to us," Carter murmured when she rejoined them. Off Jack's look she said, "No really, sir. A lot of these people have weapons. You would think someone would get curious as to why four aliens are walking through their neighborhood carrying a half dead girl."  
  
Jack shrugged. It was kinda strange when she put it like that, but still . . . "Maybe they just don't want trouble," he suggested. "I for one am glad for the lack of a welcoming committee."  
  
"I guess." Carter glanced around them, taking in the shabby buildings once more. "I just wonder what's so bad about strangers that we're being avoided like the plague."  
  
"Let's not borrow trouble," O'Neill replied, really wishing she hadn't brought that up. They had other problems at the moment, like finding a hospital. "How's she doing?" he asked Daniel who had settled the girl on the pavement for a breather.  
  
"She's still bleeding but it doesn't look as bad. If she were human she would be dead from the blood loss." Daniel looked up with his mouth set in a grim line. He didn't have to say the rest. Jack nodded. He helped Daniel carefully gather the girl back into his arms and they set off again for the center of the city where hopefully they would find some help.  
  
Almost half an hour and half the city later, the smattering of people in the streets gradually grew, bursting into the throng of an open market. Unlike the darker streets they had left behind, the market was loud and chaotic, thriving with life and spirit. To Jack it looked like the fish market in Chicago, except with more people jostling each other for space and haggling back and forth. And they all were aliens with black hair and lined faces that . . . moved?  
  
Jack stopped short in surprise as the face of the guy in front of him actually split along the lines like a stage curtain, revealing five more eyes inside his head like a second face. That was just too creepy.  
  
"Oh wow," said Daniel softly behind him, clearly as impressed as Jack was. And there were more doing it to. An old lady leaned down to inspect something, her face opening right up.  
  
"A most interesting feature," said Teal'c. Jack could only nod in agreement.  
  
Since they were standing like rocks in a river, the four of them quickly pulled themselves together and headed into the maelstrom. And this time they weren't ignored. They recieved curious looks, but the vendors were just as quick to shove goods in their faces in an attempt to sell, sell, sell. Every now and then, as they wove through the crowd, Jack saw other offworlders trading at various stalls. There weren't many, but enough to show that they were a regular presence. Nearby, one such alien, a tall guy dressed in red was leaning so far over the table, Jack thought he was going to fall over. The vendor had backed up as far has he could - which wasn't far given the cramped space he was allotted.  
  
They were just passing behind them when suddenly the offworlder spun around, his long, pale hair making a whipping sound as it cut through the air. Startled eyes met Jack's, then raked over his teammates, stopping on Daniel. Before he could so much as blink, Jack found himself, once again facing the business end of a gun. This just really wasn't their day.  
  
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	3. New Friends

Section 3: New Friends  
  
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Reflexively, Jack raised his own weapon a second later and put himself between Daniel and the alien that was shouting at them. The nervous and silent crowd pulled back quickly, leaving them in a bubble of space. One part of Jack's brain carefully took note of it while the other was getting royally pissed off. Just what the hell was going on?!  
  
"Daniel, you didn't accidentally do anything to him, did you?" Jack asked when the alien finally finished yelling.  
  
"Uh, no. I don't think so."  
  
"Sir," said Sam, "I think he just asked us a question."  
  
"Well that's great. Too bad we don't know what it was," Jack glared at the alien. He was tall, probably a foot taller than Jack, with brownish red hair in thin braids. What Jack had originally thought was pale hair was in fact a set of tentacles, covered in tattoos. The alien's hard expression softened slightly after Jack spoke. Then he said something else.  
  
"Daniel? Teal'c?" Jack was starting to get nervous with this whole communication problem.  
  
The alien's eyes narrowed. "What . . . are you?"  
  
Jack could practically hear Daniel's jaw drop. As it was, only a lifetime of training and combat kept Jack's gun in his hands and fixed on the alien that had just spoken English. Fricken English. The broken stargate hadn't done its language trick so how did this guy speak English?  
  
Before they could get an answer though, a flying green slug whizzed into their bubble talking a mile a minute to the red giant. Jack sighed in relief as the big guy pointed his weapon into the air. With a shift and a click, he snapped it together and sheathed it in a holster down his back.  
  
"The authorities are coming," he said turning back to SG-1, again speaking in clear English. "We must go before they get here. I will carry the girl."  
  
Whoa, that was quick. "I don't think so," said Jack.  
  
"The authorities here do not take kindly offworlders who cause trouble. We need to get out of here now if we want to avoid getting thrown into a cell. Your companion is tiring, and we need to move quickly," the alien said briskly.  
  
This was so not good. "Why should we trust you?" Jack asked.  
  
"We don't have time for this!" the little green slug announced suddenly. Jack glanced at it, not really surprised that it spoke English too. "We are the only ones on this planet who speak your language, and unless you want to spend the rest of your short pathetic life in a zoo, I suggest you come with us, human."  
  
Jack glanced back Daniel and Carter in surprise. Did he just say human? "We - "  
  
"It's now or never," the giant snarled as he grabbed O'Neill's arm and pulled him through the crowd that had resumed its normal activity. Jack shook his arm free as the commotion not a hundred feet away grew louder. Craning his neck, he saw ten of the indigenous aliens with some not so nice looking faces approaching. People drew back in obvious fear. That and the growing agitation of the two offworlders made his decision.  
  
"Alright," said Jack "We'll come with you. But you're not touching the girl."  
  
A pained expression flitted across the giant's face, but he didn't have time to argue. Instead, he spun on his heel and led them through the market to a nearby side street.  
  
Once in the relative safety of the shadows, the two aliens slowed their pace but continued walking. Jack just hoped they knew where they were going. The two never let SG-1 fall behind; in fact the giant walked beside Daniel and kept looking at the girl he held in his arms. Jack was starting to get annoyed with this whole situation.  
  
"So, you got names?" he asked the two aliens not so kindly.  
  
The giant shot him an annoyed look. "D'argo. This is Rygel."  
  
"Dominar - " the slug began only to be cut off by the giant in his own language. They continued on in silence, seeming not to care whom SG-1 was. Vaguely insulted, it only added to Jack's annoyance.  
  
A glance at Carter, told him she was nervous about the situation too, but was taking it in stride. Teal'c nodded at him to say he was on guard, and Daniel's look told him that the archeologist was getting tired but was equally determined to keep going and keep the girl safe. Jack shot a look at the aliens then back at Daniel. His friend nodded with a tight smile.  
  
"Hey, I think we've gone far enough," said Jack, coming to a stop. The aliens exchanged a look then both looked at the girl. D'argo shook his head.  
  
"We need to get Chiana to help. Our lodging house isn't far," he told them. Let me carry her. We'll talk once she's safe."  
  
If Daniel hadn't been on the verge of falling down, Jack would never have allowed it. As it was, he had already followed them this far, and if the looks the giant gave the girl were anything to go by, he had no ill intentions toward her. "Chiana?" he asked.  
  
"Her name. We're crewmates." The giant stared into Jack's eyes, and the Colonel had a feeling that he was going to carry her no matter what.  
  
"Alright."  
  
D'argo immediately gathered the girl into his arms, whispering to her in his own language as he turned and continued down the street.  
  
"Sir, do you think this is wise?" asked Carter quietly. "It might have been better to wait for the authorities."  
  
"I don't think he's going to hurt her," said Jack.  
  
"Still, we're trusting them an awful lot here. I've gotten turned around in all these streets. I don't know if I could get us back to the 'gate."  
  
"I too am concerned," said Teal'c. "However, these two are the first beings we have encountered that we can understand. And they have not shown us any hostility since the tall one lowered his weapon."  
  
"He knew we were human," added Daniel.  
  
"But is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jack asked, wondering what to make of it.  
  
"A good thing, you dolt!" the little green slug, Rygel, turned and snapped. Jack and his team started in surprise. Obviously they had good hearing. "Otherwise he," the creature jerked a finger at D'argo, "would have blown you're heads off for touching her. You're lucky to be alive."  
  
"We're here," D'argo said, ignoring their conversation. They had reached a medium sized building that had definitely seen better days. The neighborhood wasn't as bad as the one his team had arrived in, but Holiday Inn it was not. D'argo and Rygel had a brief conversation as they headed through the lobby cum bar that ended when the flying slug went to talk to the one of the locals at the counter. "This way." D'argo led them to the stairs.  
  
"Where did your friend go?" asked Daniel as they followed him.  
  
"To get a healer," came the reply. The giant led them down a hallway to an unlocked room where he put the girl down on the bed. Jack didn't miss the concern on D'argo's face or the anger when he inspected her injuries.  
  
"She's a friend of yours?" he asked.  
  
D'argo glanced up at him but didn't answer right away. "Yes," he finally said. "Where did you find her?"  
  
"In a junkyard," said Jack. "Somewhere . . . " He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the outside world.  
  
"Where you landed?"  
  
Landed? You could say that. Jack looked at his team, wondering how much they should tell this stranger. "Yeah," he said, and left it at that. D'argo nodded, his attention already back on the girl. He was taking off the last of her clothing - carefully since much of it was stuck to her drying blood.  
  
"Will she be alright?" asked Daniel. He approached the bed slowly, concern written on every line of his face. Sam too inched forward to sit on the room's sole chair near the bed. Jack waited till she glanced at him before nodding and taking up a more comfortable position by the door with Teal'c.  
  
"I hope so," D'argo answered. "She's strong."  
  
The whirring sound Jack had come to associate with Rygel approached, followed soon after by the slug himself and one of the locals. SG-1 received a funny look, but the healer didn't comment. Daniel moved out of her way to let her get to her patient, their alien companions assisting her and answering questions.  
  
While they were busy, all SG-1 could do was wait.  
  
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	4. Deals

Section 4: Deals  
  
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For the next arn, everything around D'argo melted away until only he, Chiana, and the healer existed. Clamping down on his emotions, he helped the old Qujagan woman clean and bandage his lover's many wounds. And he wasn't going to think about it. No, because if he thought about it he would take on the planet single handedly until he found those who had done this to her. And then he would rip them apart alive until their screams drained away with their lives.  
  
"I've done all I can," the healer's soft voice said. "Her bandages need to be changed every few arns. It would be better if she sleeps. There is much pain."  
  
D'argo nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Blue blood was already beginning to seep through the first bandages they had tied. If not for her shallow breathing, Chiana almost looked like she was merely sleeping.  
  
"Is it safe to move her?" he asked. The healer shrugged.  
  
"There is much pain," she repeated. "It would hurt, but she needs care more." The healer's hand ghosted along the side of Chiana's face, careful not to disturb her wounds. "May Ekan look gladly upon you, child," she whispered. With a sad smile for D'argo, she stood and left.  
  
"I talked to Pilot," said Rygel. "Norianti will be ready when we get back to Moya."  
  
"Good." D'argo looked up at the humans that had found Chiana. "We should take them with us," he said.  
  
"Right, just what we need. Four more humans to get us into trouble."  
  
Before D'argo could reply, the human that had carried Chiana spoke again. "Will she be okay?" he asked.  
  
The Luxan looked back at the still Nebari before answering. "She should be eventually. We need to get her back to our ship though," he turned back to he humans. "You should probably come with us."  
  
"Do you mind if we have a little chit-chat before you start making the honeymoon plans?" the gray-haired man sitting by the door asked. D'argo nodded briefly, missing neither the cold glare nor the sarcasm. They had the time to spare, and he had questions of his own - like how the hell four humans with guns got to this end of Tormented Space. Not to mention the fact that they appeared to find all of this normal. They were very different from the majority of the humans D'argo had met on Earth.  
  
"I don't think we've been properly introduced yet," said the man who had carried Chiana. "My name is Daniel Jackson from the planet Earth. This is Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and Teal'c." They all stood as he indicated each in turn. Both his voice and motions were gentle; Jackson obviously didn't want to offend them. He wore a weapon on his thigh though, and appeared more than capable of using it. O'Neill was the wary gray-haired man well armed with a guarded expression. D'argo recognized his rank as important and nodded to him in acknowledgement. The woman was also well armed but her face was softer and more open. The dark skinned man was Teal'c who had stood silent and motionless by the door since they had arrived. The perfect soldier. D'argo didn't like him.  
  
"You said you were D'argo and - "  
  
"Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth of the Hynerian Empire," Rygel interrupted Jackson. D'argo rolled his eyes and got to his feet, moving so that he was between Chiana and the strangers. "As you should know since we were on your planet half a cycle ago."  
  
The four humans looked at each other, clearly surprised. "You were on our planet?" asked Daniel Jackson.  
  
"Yes, for over a monen," Rygel continued coldly. "That's where we learned to speak your language. What I want to know is how you got here."  
  
"We would have known if you had landed on our planet," said O'Neill, not believing them. "We would have been the first to know."  
  
D'argo and Rygel exchanged a look, each asking the other, How could they not know? "This can't be good," D'argo said in his own language so the humans couldn't understand. Not only should they have been recognized from the TV, but there was no way the humans could have gotten out here without the wormhole that Pilot and John had effectively collapsed forever.  
  
"Dominar," Jackson said eliciting a surprised but nevertheless smug smile on Rygel's lips, "when do you think you were on Earth?"  
  
"At your Christmas," Rygel replied, more warmly than before. D'argo fought the urge to roll his eyes.  
  
"You shouldn't have the capability to get here," he added. The humans glanced at each other again. D'argo could see that they were a very close- knit group. He wondered if they would help him get John and Aeryn back. Since Chiana had been his only other reliable fighter, it would be nice to have the extra firepower.  
  
"Jack, I think we should tell them," said Jackson quietly. "I think we can trust them, and they might be able to help."  
  
O'Neill glanced briefly at his subordinate, then at Chiana then back at D'argo who calmly met his gaze. This was not the time to flinch.  
  
"We came here through the stargate," said O'Neill.  
  
"And what's that?" D'argo had never heard of it.  
  
"It's a device that creates a wormhole between two places in space," Carter explained.  
  
"Wormhole?" Rygel glared at D'argo as if it were his fault. The Luxan sighed heavily himself.  
  
"A subspace - "  
  
"We know what wormholes are," D'argo cut her off, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Did they ever know! "Where is this device? Is it a ship?" he asked.  
  
"No," said O'Neill. "It's a metal ring. The one here is in a junkyard."  
  
"Where you found Chiana?"  
  
O'Neill nodded.  
  
"Can you work it?"  
  
Again, the four traded looks. "No," Carter replied. "The device we normally use to dial home with is missing. And we don't have a power source to do it manually."  
  
"So you are stranded," said Rygel. "Four humans who know about wormholes stuck on this hostile planet. D'argo's right. You better come with us if you don't want to get yourselves killed."  
  
"Why? What's the danger?" asked O'Neill.  
  
"Two of our friends were kidnapped by the government here. We found out it's because they are unknown aliens. One of them is human," said D'argo meeting the other man's eyes. "He has also had a price on his head for the last three cycles because he knows about wormholes. You are in a lot of danger, and not just from the people here."  
  
"And you'd be willing to help us?" asked Carter. She traded another look with O'Neill. "At what price?"  
  
D'argo grinned. "You help me break my friends out. Chiana's too injured to help, and Rygel's too small to hold a decent weapon."  
  
"I am not small! I am well proportioned," declared the Hynerian with a sniff.  
  
D'argo snorted. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." He turned back to the humans. "That leaves just me."  
  
"It seems like your getting more out of this deal than us," said O'Neill. "Not that I doubt you, which I actually do, but we help you in exchange for . . .?" he lifted his eyebrows, "Nothing?"  
  
Now that he thought about it, D'argo admitted that it did sound like half the deals he and Moya's crew kept getting handed. "Crichton knows about wormholes. He's the only one that does in this part of space. From what we know about your planet, you shouldn't be able to be here. He might be able to get you back."  
  
"Oh that's easy," Rygel grumbled. "Just have to reform a collapsed wormhole."  
  
Ignoring him, D'argo added, "Or we'll find you a power source for your machine."  
  
"And if we don't help?" asked O'Neill.  
  
D'argo again looked at Rygel and saw the sad understanding there. "Then you walk away now. We won't stop you. I'll rescue my friends on my own, and you will have to find your own power source without getting captured yourself." His Hynerian friend looked away. D'argo turned back to O'Neill whose sarcastic expression had changed to understanding. "What will it be?"  
  
"Looks like you made yourself a deal," said O'Neill.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"So what's next? Your ship?" The human commander was all business now.  
  
"Yeah," D'argo replied, this time turning to gather Chiana carefully in his arms, his returned anger warring with the urge to cry for her pain. "Pilot, Stark, and Norianti are waiting for us."  
  
"I though you said you were alone?" queried Jackson.  
  
"To fight, yes. Pilot can't leave Moya, and Stark and Norianti are a little . . ."  
  
"Insane," Rygel finished while D'argo was still searching for nicer words. "Crichton unhinged was more stable than those two."  
  
"Rygel, shut up," D'argo sighed as he followed the Hynerian from the room followed by their mysterious human allies.  
  
* 


	5. Taxi

Section 5: Taxi  
  
**************************************************************************** ********************************************************************  
  
"That's your ship?" O'Neill asked. He and his teammates had once more followed the two aliens through the streets of the city, this time further inward to a bustling spaceport. The ship they were now approaching was silver and, in Jack's opinion, kinda looked like a bug, rounded and squat. But hey, anything was better than pyramids.  
  
Neither D'argo nor Rygel answered his question since it obviously was their ship. All of a sudden, D'argo barked, making Jack start.  
  
"Voice recognition code," said Carter interestedly. "Is it like a password or are the sensors keyed only to your voice and speech patterns?" When D'argo ignored her, Carter just shrugged to Daniel. "Since he used his own language I'd guess that it's tied to his native language. Obviously no one here can reproduce it. There's probably a password though for when he's on his home planet. I wonder how far that is from here." Jack and Teal'c joined her and Daniel as D'argo spoke again and a door opened, a set of step stairs descending to meet them.  
  
"Cool," said O'Neill.  
  
"Sounds like he has a set of vocal commands for different functions," Daniel commented.  
  
"So what that first one was for?" asked Carter curiously.  
  
Ahead of them, Rygel had already disappeared inside. D'argo called for them to hurry up from where he waited by the steps. O'Neill prodded Carter in the ribs to get her walking again toward the ship. She hid it well, but Jack could tell from the gleam in her eyes that she couldn't wait to uncover the secrets of this unknown technology. She was just geeky that way he smiled to himself as he followed his team up the steps. The interior was small, and aside from his people, Rygel, D'argo, and the unconscious white girl, empty. Jack looked around for another door, suspicions prickling the back of his neck.  
  
"Where are your insane friends?" he asked casually. The weight of the gun in his hand all of a sudden felt very reassuring. Not that he thought they'd try anything. Just pull one over on him. And Jack didn't like the thought of that one bit.  
  
"On Moya," said Rygel as if that explained everything, "our ship."  
  
"And this is . . .?" Jack raised his eyebrows. From where he stood, this looked like a ship too.  
  
"*My* ship," D'argo answered. "Don't touch anything."  
  
"Oh. Okay." Jack relaxed slightly, still a little confused.  
  
"It's probably just a shuttle, sir," Carter whispered helpfully into his ear.  
  
"I knew that," he growled back. Carter ignored his glare and moved forward out of the way as D'argo bent to settle the girl on the floor, where apparently the passengers would be sitting too since the only chairs belonged to the pilots.  
  
"You, uh . . ."  
  
"Daniel," the archeologist supplied.  
  
"Yeah. Make sure she doesn't get jostled in the flight," D'argo ordered. "It should be a smooth ride, but just in case - "  
  
D'argo's caution was cut off by an alarm going off and a voice speaking in the language that sounded like the one he had used to open the door. "Frell!!" The giant leapt to his feet, knocked Jack out of the way and rounded on Major Carter. "You stupid woman! I told you not to touch anything!"  
  
"Now wait just a minute!" Jack threw himself between his 2IC and the raging D'argo. No way was he going off on one of his people. Jack met the alien's glare with one of his own, letting D'argo know that if he wanted to yell at her, he would have to go through O'Neill.  
  
"D'argo just fix it before we're all blown to bits!" Rygel snapped, breaking the tension. With an honest to God snarl and shake of his head, D'argo pushed both Jack and Sam toward the back and drew his gun, barking commands. Before Jack could even protest in their defense, a console opened and D'argo inserted his gun like a key. Instantly, the alarm ceased blaring. Complete silence.  
  
"What the hell just happened?!" Jack's voice snapped into the quiet like a whip.  
  
"Your stupid soldier activated the self-destruct sequence!" D'argo snarled back, fire burning in his eyes as he glared at Carter.  
  
"I didn't touch anything!" she protested. "Colonel, I swear, I was only looking."  
  
"Well your 'looking' must have involved your skin because alien DNA is what activates the self-destruct," D'argo shot back. "You can't touch any of the panels in here unless I've spit on you first."  
  
SG-1 stared at him. Jack said the first thing that came to mind. "Eww. That's just gross."  
  
D'argo rubbed a hand over his face, like a tired parent. "Just don't touch anything. And you might want to sit down for takeoff."  
  
Teal'c, Jack, and Sam sat on the floor next to Daniel and the girl. "Please put you seatbacks and tray tables in their - "  
  
"Upright and locked positions," Rygel and D'argo chorused. "Will you just shut up?"  
  
They knew? Jack turned and met his team's equally surprised looks. How could they know? The feeling that something was seriously wrong again wiggled into place at the back of Jack's neck. First, they claimed to have visited Earth, now they *knew* one of the most quoted lines in modern Earth society. But there was no way they could have landed on Earth without the SGC knowing about it. *They* had even said the humans should know about them. Jack could only hope that he hadn't led his team into another trap. He listened with half an ear as Daniel and Carter attempted to ask questions of their alien hosts, but the two, fed up and annoyed, either told them to shut up or ignored them until Sam and Daniel gave up.  
  
With a flick of his head, Jack got their attention. He nodded at their two new friends then at his weapon. Sam and Daniel traded a look then nodded. A glance at Teal'c told Jack all that he needed to know. They would be ready for anything.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Consciousness fluttered like a butterfly through his head. It was pretty. Lots of colors on a black background. But it was cold. Everything was cold, he realized. John woke. He shivered, the hair on his body rising. "Oh God, not this again," he croaked through dry lips. Slowly, so the light wouldn't hurt too badly, he opened his eyes. Yep, he was naked.  
  
* 


	6. Awakenings

Section 6: Awakenings  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
Pain. Pain everywhere. And darkness. Those were the first thoughts that accompanied Chiana back to the land of the living. Too tired and too hurt to try and open her eyes, the Nebari lay still. The surface beneath her was lukewarm and vibrating, a familiar rumble edging into her awareness. Lo'la. She was on D'argo's ship, safe. Memories of the few days they had spent on the Qujagan homeworld filtered back, a myriad of smells, sounds, and textures. No images. The violence of the last day echoed on her skin only to be resolutely pushed away to that dark corner of her mind where she kept the dren that happened in life. There was nothing to be done about it now. Time to move on again.  
  
If only the pain would go away for a moment. Chiana knew it wouldn't though. Just as she knew that what had happened wouldn't disappear. But for now she just wanted to lie to herself. So she did.  
  
Above her, voices floated softly in the air. Not hard or dangerous, but unfamiliar, she realized with a start. Panic hit her and she opened her eyes trying desperately to see but seeing nothing. Still blind - strangers - D'argo's ship, she knew it was his, she could feel it. Where was D'argo?!  
  
"Hey there. Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you," one of the voices, the one closest to her said gently. She could feel his breath and it was not reassuring! Chiana struggled to raise her arm to defend herself, hit him, anything, but her arms felt like fire and her eyes like ice.  
  
"D'arg - " she whispered hoarsely, igniting another flame down her throat, into her chest where it spread like a fuel leak. It hurt so badly!  
  
"We're not going to hurt you," the voice repeated.  
  
"I think she's panicking, Daniel," another male voice told the first one. "Better call tentacles over."  
  
"D'argo," the first voice called out. Chiana didn't hear what he said next, she only heard her lover's name and a moment later felt his fingers running down her face.  
  
"D'argo?" she tried again, managing more than a croak. "That you?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me," the Luxan's deep, soft voice rumbled. Chiana smiled in relief.  
  
"We're in Lo'la?" she asked.  
  
"Yes. You're on the floor across from the door."  
  
"And . . . and them?" The voices, three - four of them that hovered above her.  
  
"Some humans that we picked up. They found you in a junkyard." Chiana nodded as best she could. She remembered a junkyard nearby. "They're going to help us get John and Aeryn."  
  
"How did they get here?"  
  
"No idea."  
  
Weird. She would think about the humans and their presence here later. "Moya?" she asked next.  
  
"Almost there," said D'argo. Again his hand passed over her face, and then she felt his lips brush her forehead. "We're going to enter the atmosphere soon. The human next to you is Daniel. He carried you from the junkyard. He'll be the only one touching you." Chiana could feel the glare D'argo was directing at the others. "I'll be back soon. I gotta land us."  
  
"Okay. Right." Chiana didn't want him to go even the short distance to the cockpit. In the dark it felt like a system away.  
  
"Chiana?"  
  
"Frogface!" Rygel was there too. His presence was just as reassuring as D'argo's had been.  
  
"You look terrible," the Hynerian informed her, but Chiana heard through it. She wanted to laugh but couldn't.  
  
"I feel terrible," she replied, the weak smile she had conjured earlier fading into a grimace. "So more humans?" she said to distract herself.  
  
"There are four of them," said Rygel. "They say they've never heard of us." He proceeded then to tell her briefly of their meeting and she was introduced to them. They added commentary when necessary. The one called Major Carter tried to explain how this thing called a stargate worked on planets but the Colonel O'Neill interrupted with a sarcastic, "Carter, I don't even understand what you're talking about. English please." That was when Chiana noticed that Rygel had been speaking John's language while she had continued on in her own tongue.  
  
Before she could utter her own greeting in the Earth language, D'argo was talking to Pilot, and they were touching down in Moya's hangar.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Naked and cold, John sat up. Naked he could understand. Well, he could if he were on Moya and not freezing his ass off in this room. Unpainted walls, no furniture, no carpet . . . it would really suck to live here, he thought absently. Of course, there he was. Glancing around, he saw another figure lying on the floor nearby; it was Aeryn, as naked as he was. And while that was a pleasing thought in most situations, this was not one of them.  
  
"Aeryn," he scuttled over and gently shook her shoulder. "Aeryn, honey, wake up." He shook her shoulder again with no response. Then he grinned at a sudden thought. What the hell, he thought, she'd said yes.  
  
John leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on Aeryn's lips.  
  
Still no response. Sighing, John went back to shaking her shoulder. "Aeryn, wake up. Come on, baby, we're in trouble. Again," he added as an afterthought. Finally, a gentle groan and the fluttering of her eyelids heralded her return to consciousness.  
  
"John?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here."  
  
"You're naked."  
  
"So are you," he grinned as Aeryn's eyes widened and she sat up, trying to cover herself. After a moment, she glanced around at the room with an annoyed grimace for him and stopped.  
  
"Do you know where we are?" she asked.  
  
"Nope, just woke up myself. I remember a ship coming out of nowhere, kissing you, then a shattering sensation. That's it."  
  
Aeryn nodded. "Me too." She looked around the room again. "I suppose they are watching us," she commented. John shrugged, not seeing any obvious surveillance equipment. They helped each other to their feet slowly to stretch out abused muscles and wandered over to the door. It was solid metal, like the walls, with no door-handle or hinges on the inside. John could barely get a fingernail in the crack between the door and the doorframe. "Frelling solid," muttered Aeryn, turning to him in disgust.  
  
"Guess we'll have to wait till someone comes a' callin'," said John. He ran a critical eye over his love. "Are you okay?"  
  
Aeryn nodded again once. "Yes. A little sore, cold. But I'm fine. No real pain so I think the baby is alright." John pulled her close, sensing the worry in her voice. He ran his hands down her arms and back to warm her up.  
  
"So," John nuzzled into her hair, "since we're stuck here for the moment, you want to set a date?"  
  
"For the wedding?"  
  
"Mmmhun,"  
  
"How about after we get out of here and before we get shot at or captured again," Aeryn suggested with a wry grin. "Although with our luck, we'll probably be shot at and captured at our wedding."  
  
"Winona can be your Matron of Honor," said John. "Of course, we'll need to find her first."  
  
"We'll pick her up on the way out," Aeryn murmured reassuringly.  
  
They lapsed into silence then, both knowing that was wishful thinking. After all, how often did things go to plan? But neither said anything to break the illusion of control. Because maybe, just maybe things would go right. The only thing that was certain was that they only had now.  
  
* 


	7. Moya

Section 7: Moya  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
Daniel helped D'argo settle the blind girl in his arms. The poor thing winced and hissed in pain when the two men jostled her fragile body. Daniel felt one of her wounds begin to bleed again through the bandage and silently cursed those that had done this to her. She seemed so young and innocent, though he did notice that she kept herself from crying out as D'argo held her.  
  
A quick glance out the front window, told Daniel they were completely inside the other ship now. From what he'd seen as they had landed, the larger ship was on another planet in the middle of an ocean. The only question was what kind of ship, for water or for space. He'd thought they meant a space ship, but since they were in the water . . . Daniel would ask when he got the chance.  
  
"So are you in charge of this boat too?" asked Jack after D'argo spoke the words to open the door. The alien glanced at him and said, "yes," before heading down the steps.  
  
With a shrug to his team and another subtle look that told them to be ready for anything, Jack followed their hosts through the doors into what looked like a workroom and hangar combined. Large and airy, the golden walls curved ovoidly to the floor, a soft light emanating from behind rib-like supports that left much of the room in shadow. Two other space ships were to the right. The smaller one was too far away for Daniel to get a good look at because it was hidden by the other ship that was clearly a fighter, black and sleek.  
  
"Would you look at that?" Sam breathed reverently. The pilot in her was clearly impressed. Even Daniel could appreciate the aerodynamic design that would fly efficiently in both space and atmosphere.  
  
"Carter," Jack reprimanded her gently even as he gave the vessel a lingering look before ushering the team after their hosts.  
  
The arrival of two other aliens, however, quickly diverted both theirs and Daniel's attention. The "insane" ones, Rygel had called them. Daniel watched with interest, surprised that they were of different species, both of each other and of D'argo and Rygel. The first was an old woman who looked like a human - with an extra eye in her forehead that glowed blue.  
  
"Hello, humans," she said briskly in English before focusing on Chiana and reverting back to her native language. Clearly, she was the healer of the group; Daniel noticed her going through a cloth bag, as she hurried D'argo and his burden out of the room. She looked more competent than insane.  
  
The second newcomer, on the other hand, was a little off. He was probably from human descent, Daniel thought. One half of his face was covered by a bronze mask. The man hung back from the others, bouncing slightly on his feet and talking to himself. As D'argo and the old woman walked by, he reached out a hand to Chiana only to snatch it back again before following them in a shuffling gait.  
  
"So," said Jack, turning to Rygel with an expectant look. "Do we get lemonade?"  
  
"We don't have lemons and we're out of sugar," the small alien answered briefly.  
  
"Oh?" said Jack, surprised with the answer.  
  
"Follow me," Rygel sighed. "I'll show you your quarters." He turned slowly in his floating chair and headed for the door.  
  
Not wanting to pass up the opportunity, Daniel fell into step beside him as they ventured down the golden hallway. "Nice ship," he commented to break the ice. He noted that the spaces between the ribs could be used for cover. "Is it for space travel?"  
  
"Yes. She's a Leviathan."  
  
"So why are we in the middle of an ocean?" asked Jack with his usual directness.  
  
"The water has minerals that are helping her and Pilot heal from being disconnected," Rygel said without looking at him.  
  
"Disconnected?" Sam jumped into the conversation. "Your pilot has an interface with the ship?"  
  
"Of course he does!" Rygel snapped, stopping to look at them in surprise. After a moment his look softened into resignation. "But then you're humans. You don't know anything."  
  
Both Jack and Sam bristled, Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Daniel was about to say something about how they were not as stupid as they appeared, but Rygel went on before he got a chance.  
  
"Moya is a biomechanoid. She and Pilot are symbiotes."  
  
"Are you saying the ship is alive?" asked Carter. When Rygel nodded her eyes widened in wonder. Daniel felt his own surprise as he looked at the hallway around them. They really were ribs. Amazing! In all their travels, he had never seen anything like this.  
  
"Can she feel us? See? Hear?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious. "Does she mind carrying us?"  
  
"What about her systems? Biomechanoid, does that mean that some of the systems are biologic and some mechanical, or that it's a blend of both? Do you know how she was made?"  
  
Rygel shrugged and continued down the hall, taking the left branch at the next junction. "She was born, I think," he said, ignoring the other questions.  
  
"Born?" Jack glanced at Daniel with the same surprise the archeologist himself felt.  
  
"Who could I talk to onboard who would know?" Sam asked, refusing to give up on this new wealth of information.  
  
"Pilot, but he might not want to talk," Rygel answered. "Aeryn might know."  
  
"Aeryn?" Jack jumped on the unfamiliar name. "One of your people we're rescuing?"  
  
"She and Crichton, yes." He turned down another curved hallway, this one with lattice doors opening on either side. "Here's where you will stay," he told them. Rygel showed them how to open the doors to the three rooms on the hallway. Each one was spacious and sparse, containing only empty beds. The same soft glow filtered from the walls and ceiling. It looked cozy, if a little bare, almost like a cave.  
  
"I suppose you'll need blankets," Ryegl eyed the rooms critically. "Pilot," he said to the air. Daniel glanced at Jack and Teal'c who had raised an eyebrow, but then an alien voice rasped from around them. Rygel rattle something off in his own language.  
  
"Intership communications," Teal'c said softly.  
  
"What did he say?" asked Daniel, when Rygel finished. The small being added something else to the air before answering.  
  
"He's sending a DRD with blankets and microbes."  
  
"DRD?" "Microbes?" asked Jack and Sam at the same time.  
  
"Diagnostic Repair Drones," Rygel pointed to a yellow robot about the size of a cat approaching them on the floor. The little thing extended a syringe filled with a red liquid. "The translator microbes will let you understand all of us so we won't have to speak your barbaric language. Stark and Pilot don't speak English so you'll need the microbes to talk to them."  
  
"When you say microbes . . . ?" Jack left it hanging.  
  
"They colonize at the base of the brain and allow you to understand all other languages."  
  
"Uh uh, no, no way," Jack said stepping back. "I'm not letting anything into my head. Understand?" For once, Daniel was inclined to agree with him. He shot a nervous glance at Sam who had paled at the thought of something else in her mind.  
  
"Dominar, we've had some bad experiences with parasites," Daniel attempted to explain.  
  
"Who hasn't?" Rygel returned. "But the microbes only translate, they do not take over your mind."  
  
"Could we ever take them out?" asked Sam, eyeing the DRD with distaste.  
  
"Why would you want to do that?" he was genuinely surprised by the question.  
  
"Umm, it just wouldn't be a good idea," Daniel tried again. Janet would go ape-shit for one thing, not to mention the fact that they would probably be grounded by Hammond indefinitely.  
  
"Ridiculous!" Rygel snapped. On cue, the little DRD rolled forward towards Jack who reacted in typical Jack fashion. When the smoke finally cleared, there was very little of the yellow robot left and one very angry two foot alien flying out of reach. "What the frell was that for?!" he yelled.  
  
"Rygel! What happened?!" D'argo yelled over the communications. Daniel could hear the sound of running feet approaching from the hallway.  
  
"Sorry," Jack offered, not sounding in the least apologetic.  
  
"Jack." "Colonel," said Daniel and Sam reprovingly. He would never change.  
  
"I do not believe that aided our endeavor," Teal'c added as D'argo barreled in, sword in hand. He took in the remains of the DRD, Jack's weapon and the other guilty looking members of SG-1 quickly.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, lowering his sword.  
  
"He didn't mean to," Daniel said hastily, darting a glance at his sheepish CO. "The thing tried to give Jack microbes and he kind of overreacted. If there's some way to make this up to you, if we hurt the ship . . ." Daniel trailed off, hoping against hope that they hadn't pissed off their hosts by destroying their property. If the ship really was alive, who knew what kind of damage Jack had inadvertently done.  
  
"It's just that we really don't want those bug things in our heads," continued Jack. "We can communicate just fine as we have been."  
  
"You killed a DRD over translator microbes?" asked D'argo, clearly taken aback.  
  
"Rather be safe than sorry," Jack replied with tight smile. The person Rygel had been talking to earlier interrupted them then.  
  
"I'm sorry Pilot, but it's gone," D'argo answered, regarding the dead DRD sadly. Pilot asked something else to which the tall alien snapped, "No, it wasn't my fault! It was one of the humans!" He listened again to the tired voice. "He's not very happy with you," he told Jack.  
  
But thankfully, D'argo didn't seem to be angry about it, or Rygel for that matter. It was rather surprising considering that most captains - COs in general, he amended, thinking of Jack - tended to be possessive of their vessels and gear.  
  
"So you don't want microbes?" D'argo asked when the Pilot finally finished yelling at him. Another oddity that the crewman had such leeway to do so.  
  
"No," said Jack. D'argo sighed and shrugged.  
  
"Fine. You hungry?"  
  
"We don't have enough to feed them!" Rygel declared indignantly, but D'argo ignored him, gesturing for SG-1 to follow him. Leaving their packs, they once again entered the maze of golden hallways.  
  
D'argo showed them to the small dining room then left them to raid what served as a cupboard. A little surprised that they had to cook for themselves, Daniel was even more surprised that most of the food was recognizable. Cans of dehydrated vegetables, a little bit of frozen meat, and a large supply of flour and other baking goods sat on the shelves next to other foods in alien packaging.  
  
"The cuisine suggests that they were indeed on Earth," commented Teal'c as the four of them took stock of the pantry. Daniel nodded in agreement.  
  
"You know, I've been thinking about that," said Sam. Jack glanced at her to go on. Putting down her gun, Sam leaned against the table to give the rest of them room to cook. "We know that the stargate's language translation mechanism didn't work when we came through," she began.  
  
"We also didn't come out where we were supposed to," Jack interjected. "Do you see a frying pan anywhere?" Teal'c handed him one and passed a pot to Daniel for the green beans. The linguist listened as Sam continued, wondering now how he was going to get the can open.  
  
"Yes, sir. I think that's related. I think the gate we came through brought us to an alternate universe."  
  
"Like the mirror?" Daniel forgot about finding a can opener.  
  
"I don't know yet. But it would explain both why these aliens were on Earth without our knowing it and the language problem."  
  
"So how do we get back?" asked Jack, needing no further convincing. Funny how it all seemed normal in an odd way, Daniel thought.  
  
"I'll need to check out the stargate again," said Sam.  
  
"Unfortunately we are far from the stargate," said Teal'c. "Our hosts have brought us to another planet."  
  
"But they still need our help to get their friends out of the other place back there," said Jack. "I trust the big guy on that."  
  
This brought Daniel's head once more out of the search for a can opener. "Oh?" he asked, surprised. "Why's that?" at Jack's look he added. "Not that I'm disagreeing because I believe him too. But you normally don't . . ."  
  
"Follow strangers to other planets without a damn good reason?" finished Jack. "I know. It's just a feeling. Like with Teal'c. You've seen him with the girl. He just doesn't add up to being a threat."  
  
"Yet he is clearly a warrior," Teal'c pointed out. "And he is never without his weapon."  
  
"But he didn't ask us to check our guns at the door either," Jack indicated the guns and zats they all still carried. "We could take over this ship now if we wanted to."  
  
"Good heavens, why would you want to do that?" Startled, the four of them looked up at the old woman who just bustled in as if she owned the place. While Daniel assured her that they really had no intention of taking over the ship, she maneuvered him out of the way over the can of beans. Grabbing a knife from the counter, she quickly mangled an opening into the top and dumped the beans into the pot.  
  
"Good," she said brightly. "Because Moya, and Pilot for that matter, are really in no shape to do anything but heal. It wouldn't do any good to take her over. The water is in that container," she shoved the pot in Daniel's hands then pushed him towards said container none too gently. A little bewildered, Daniel did as he was told while the old woman sniffed the steaks Jack was frying, her eyes darting back and forth. "No spice," she declared grabbing a jar off the shelf above Sam. She took out some leaves, rolled them into a ball and spit on them. From another jar she took more leaves and mixed them with the first set, spitting on the whole thing again before ripping them to little pieces.  
  
"Oh, no you don't!" Jack snatched the frying pan out of her reach when she tried to scatter her saliva ridden herbs on the steak. "We like it just fine the way it is."  
  
"Nonsense. It will be bland without a little help," she said trying unsuccessfully to spice the steaks. Jack danced out of reach, and Daniel couldn't help but smile at the two of them.  
  
"Bland is good!" the colonel declared, raising the pan above his head and holding her off with an outstretched arm.  
  
"I believe O'Neill is trying to say 'no, thank you,'" Teal'c moved in between the two. Suitably distracted the old woman, who sidled up to the Jaffa with eyes flickering everywhere over his body.  
  
"But you wouldn't say 'no,' now would you?" she inched closer. "Tall, strong," she murmured. To his credit, Teal'c only lifted an eyebrow at her proposition.  
  
"I do not believe that would be wise," he said.  
  
"Wisdom is best left to those who do not have sex," she replied, grabbing his hand. Teal'c quickly pulled it away and stepped back before she could try again.  
  
Daniel blinked. She really was crazy! "So, uhh," he tried to think of something to rescue his friend. "How's Chiana?"  
  
"Chiana," the woman, Norianti he suddenly remembered her name, glanced at him, the predatory look replaced by one of concern. "She will survive. D'argo is with her now. Once Stark puts her to sleep he'll be down to discuss the plan."  
  
"Plan?" asked Jack warily. He still kept his body between her and the steak.  
  
"For getting John and Aeryn out," D'argo himself said from the doorway, joining them. "Why don't you finish cooking first. We'll talk while we eat."  
  
He leant a hand getting out plates and utensils while Daniel and Jack finished the steaks and beans. They were almost done when D'argo joined them at the stove. "She didn't put anything in them, did she?" he whispered anxiously.  
  
"No," Daniel smiled.  
  
"She tried, but we kept it all safe," Jack whispered back. D'argo heaved a sigh of relief, an almost comical expression crossing his face.  
  
"Good work," he clapped them both gently on the shoulder. Glancing at each other, Daniel and Jack joined the rest at the table, ready to serve.  
  
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* 


	8. Plans

Section 8: Plans  
  
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The food was plain, but still an unexpected treat for SG-1. It beat MRE's any day and most of the strange crap they were given when they were actually invited to eat on the worlds they visited. Though Jack found the familiarity in and of itself weird given the very alien nature of where they were.  
  
As for their hosts, they were definitely among the strangest aliens SG-1 had met. Five plus different - and O'Neill meant different - kinds of aliens living together on a ship that itself was alive was something they had never seen either. It was kind of like something out of Star Trek except that the captain didn't act like a captain, the crew didn't act like a crew, and there was a distinct lack of the "we come in peace" vibe. And despite all that, Jack found himself liking D'argo, even trusting him because of the blind girl.  
  
As for the others, Rygel struck him as stuck up but ultimately harmless, and Norianti, the old woman, well, she was just scary. Jack watched from across the table as she spit out a piece of chewed meat, mixed it with some stuff from her jars, chewed again, mixed in more stuff, then put it in a pocket. That was just gross and disturbing, and Jack really didn't want to know what she was saving it for.  
  
"So, uhh," Jack hastily turned away, "your friends. Why were they captured?"  
  
"From what we gathered at the planet, it was because the Qujagans had never seen their species before," D'argo answered. He took a sip of his drink before continuing. "Their current warlord likes having rare stuff and sends his people out to find it. That's why they came here. When they saw John and Aeryn in the boat," he gestured to the ocean out the window, "they shot them with something that made them shatter into pieces, collected them, and took them away."  
  
"They shattered into pieces?" said Carter in disbelief. "Are you sure?"  
  
"We saw it," D'argo replied coldly. Carter had the good grace to look away, but Jack could already see the wheels turning in her head.  
  
"Where are they now?" Daniel picked up the conversation.  
  
"They're being held in a science lab in the city," said Rygel. "It takes a few solar days to recover from the weapon, but once they do, the Qujagans will start with physical testing and interrogation. Then they move on to dissection."  
  
"Ouch," said Jack. That didn't sound fun.  
  
"How did you find all this out?" asked Daniel.  
  
"We asked one of the technicians," said D'argo.  
  
"Nicely?" Jack couldn't help but add.  
  
"Very nicely," Rygel said with a smile that was anything but comforting. Jack suddenly didn't want to know. His earlier assessment of the alien suddenly didn't feel as complete.  
  
"So, uhh, this plan of yours. What do you have in mind?" he asked.  
  
"It's quite simple," said D'argo. "We'll go in Lo'la, blast a hole in the front doors, run in, find John and Aeryn, get out, shoot anything that moves. Except John and Aeryn."  
  
Shocked, O'Neill stared at him. "That's your plan? That's a stupid plan."  
  
D'argo shrugged. "It'll probably work."  
  
His offhand words surprised Daniel and Carter out of their own surprise. "You can't just go shooting up their labs," Daniel protested, his fighting instincts giving way to the would-be plight of the scientists. "I'm sure that if you talk to them, you can work something out."  
  
"We tried negotiating," Rygel snapped. "They denied even having them."  
  
"Look," D'argo broke in, "I realize you don't want us killing people, but going in hard and fast is the only way to ensure that we get our friends out."  
  
"But they're scientists," Carter tried, her own sentiments clear. "They're not trained to fight. It would be a slaughter. They will be more inclined to talk- "  
  
"What is it with humans and talking?" asked D'argo, frustrated.  
  
"I don't know. I'm more of a shoot 'em up guy myself," said Jack. "But they do have a point."  
  
"We should not needlessly kill innocents," said Teal'c. "If it is as you say, then they have no choice but to carry out their orders."  
  
"So John and Aeryn should just roll over and let themselves be killed in the name of science? Would you?" D'argo fixed first Jack then Teal'c, Carter and Daniel with his gaze.  
  
"No. I guess not," said Sam looking away, guilty that she would kill even scientists to get away. Jack again saw why his general dislike for scientists had never extended to Carter. Much.  
  
"Of course you wouldn't," said Norianti. "You would fight." Jack nodded in agreement, briefly meeting D'argo's eyes. If it were his team in there, he would be planning exactly the same thing.  
  
"What if we just stun them?" Daniel asked, not willing to give up yet. "Get your friends out without killing anyone."  
  
"Stun them?" Rygel said disdainfully. "With what? Powder?"  
  
"I don't have enough hekkiah for that," muttered Norianti, busying herself once again with her leaves and spit.  
  
"Some of our weapons stun if you only fire them once," Daniel continued. Jack could have sworn he heard D'argo mutter "useless weapons." "We go in, get out. They wake up half an hour later. We're gone."  
  
"How 'bout it?" asked Jack, giving his stamp of approval. Hopefully it would keep everyone happy.  
  
"You know," said D'argo, "dead enemies don't come back and kill you."  
  
"We'll make more enemies if we kill them," Daniel countered. The two of them stared at each other, Daniel's stubbornness facing off against D'argo's own will to do it his way. "We don't have to kill everybody," Daniel broke the silence in a quiet but firm voice that Jack knew only too well.  
  
"Fine," D'argo acquiesced at last. "Use your stun weapons. I'll try not to mortally wound anyone I shoot at."  
  
"This is ridiculous," Rygel shook his head. Grunting in disgust, he shoved more beans into is mouth. D'argo shrugged philosophically and turned his attention back to his plate, not in the mood for anymore conversation.  
  
"So," said Jack, once more searching for something to break the ice that had settled over the group. Daniel and Carter were no help when he gestured at them to make conversation, and Teal'c merely did his eyebrow thing as if to say "that is not in my job description." With a sigh, Jack searched the room for anything, studiously ignoring whatever the hell Norianti was doing. The ocean out the window finally gave him something.  
  
"So how's the fishing out here?" he asked innocently.  
  
Both Rygel's and D'argo's heads snapped up and they exchanged a closed look. Jack just wondered what he'd said.  
  
"What is it with humans and fishing?" asked D'argo, staring at him like he'd grown a second head.  
  
"It's fun," said Jack a bit defensively. "There's this lake in Minnesota where the bass are this big," he held his hands about three feet apart. Everyone was staring at him now. And was that a grin Carter was trying to hide?  
  
"I do not believe fishing is fun," said Teal'c. "It was in fact unstimulating."  
  
"You're just mad because you didn't catch anything," Jack told him, not appreciating his betrayal.  
  
"Neither did you, O'Neill."  
  
"Well, that's not really the point now, is it?"  
  
"Indeed," Teal'c cut eyes at him with a lifted eyebrow. Jack shushed him with his hands and a disproving look.  
  
"He doesn't know what he's talking about," he told their amused hosts. Well, D'argo looked amused. Rygel just sniffed and crammed even more food into his mouth, if that was even possible. That had to be his tenth helping. Actually, Jack hadn't been paying too close attention since it was almost as disgusting to watch Rygel eat as Nori do her thing. "So your human friend likes fishing?" he grasped at the last thread of conversation.  
  
"He talks about it," D'argo nodded. "Went with his father when he was child."  
  
"Ahh. Do you know where?" D'argo shook his head, and Jack felt the conversation fall flat again as he lost what was left of commonality. A minute of uncomfortable silence followed until Daniel voiced the thoughtful look on his face.  
  
"Can I ask you something?" When he received a positive nod from D'argo, he continued. "How did you all come to serve on this ship? I mean you are all obviously from different species," Daniel hastened to explain. "It's just that almost all of the alien races we've come into contact with stick to themselves. They know of other aliens of course, but beyond alliances, they don't work together like this." He gestured to the ship at large.  
  
"Hmmph," was Rygel's response, while D'argo looked rather uncomfortable. "I wouldn't have been caught dead with them," Rygel gestured to the two other aliens at the table, "if it hadn't been for other mitigating circumstances."  
  
"What do you mean? You said you were a 'dominar'?" asked Daniel. "What does the title mean?"  
  
"Means he's annoying," D'argo muttered. Ryegl shot him a glare before answering.  
  
"I am -"  
  
"- was - "  
  
"Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth of the Hynerian Empire, ruler of over 600 billion subjects." The slug? King? Jack lifted his own eyebrows in surprise. He had to be lying.  
  
"And you're the captain of his yacht?" he asked D'argo with just a trace of sarcasm.  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"So why are you here?" Daniel ignored the side conversation, getting back to the matter at hand. "If you are the ruler . . ." he trailed off.  
  
"I was deposed," Rygel said with such dignity that if he didn't look like, well, a slug, could have passed for royalty.  
  
"Well that sucks," O'Neill said without too much conviction. "What?" he asked when Carter gave him a look.  
  
"So why here? Why this ship?" Sam asked with a last glare at the colonel.  
  
"Moya used to be a prison ship," D'argo broke in with a grimace. Jack immediately sat up straighter.  
  
"As in . . . " Daniel trailed off again as diplomatically as possible.  
  
"You're escaped prisoners?" Jack had no qualms about diving onto this new bit of information. Granted they didn't have the whole picture, but a deposed king-person and the sudden knowledge that the big seven-foot alien was an escaped prisoner made him nervous. Even if he did like the guy.  
  
D'argo nodded, eyeing him carefully.  
  
"Well, I'm not," Nori declared before SG-1 could ask anymore questions. "I'm a liberated prisoner."  
  
Like that was so much better, thought Jack.  
  
"We're still not sure how she got on board," D'argo frowned. Nori just grinned at him as if she was hiding some secret that she would never tell. Or maybe it was just her. Jack grimaced, as she started humming and spitting again.  
  
"For what were you imprisoned?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"Can't remember," Nori answered with a smile. "Long time ago. Very nasty business," she added conspiratorially.  
  
"What about you?" Carter asked D'argo who had yet to reply. And it didn't look like he was going to from the way he kept his eyes on his plate.  
  
"I should take some of this to Stark." D'argo stood and went to the stove to fill up another plate then beat a hasty retreat from the dining room.  
  
"What was that about?" Carter asked, subdued by his sudden exit. Jack's own concern for his team shifted to worry about the alien whose whole body screamed pain and regret.  
  
Rygel shifted uneasily under the combined curiosity of the SG team. "Oh, stop looking at me like that!" he finally snapped. "If he doesn't want to tell you, then I won't either!" Jack exchanged a look with Daniel at Rygel's sudden loyalty since the two had done nothing but squabble. But then some friendships were like that. Nori watched them from hooded lids, tacitly acknowledging the scene before her. A few minutes into the uncomfortable silence, she left with her spitball. Rygel, having finally eaten his fill, soon followed.  
  
"So." Daniel looked across the table at the rest of them. Jack shrugged back. He didn't know what to think either.  
  
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* 


	9. Prisoners

Section 9: Prisoners  
  
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It was late, but D'argo still sat by her side. Cleaned up properly, Chiana didn't nearly look half as bad as when the humans had found her. Norianti had sewn up the cuts and gashes, bandaging them with her plants and drugs to stave off infection. Blue bruises still peppered her body but they had at least stopped swelling. The old woman had been full of praise for the Qujagan healer's preliminary work and had quickly set to the long term healing Chiana needed.  
  
Sleep took five cycles off of her, D'argo noted as he watched the Nebari slumber. She had an innocence about her that shone through all the brighter when she was away from the cares of their existence. Such a remarkable woman, one able to win her place back in his heart.  
  
D'argo had been there perhaps three arns when her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. "Chiana," he breathed so she would know he was there.  
  
She turned towards him, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her eyes were solid black and not the disturbing white of the blind. "I can see you," she whispered, tears coloring both her voice and cheeks. Gently, D'argo wiped them away.  
  
"I told you it would come back," he said softly, wanting suddenly to laugh for joy.  
  
"Five days, D'argo. I was blind for five days. It keeps getting longer. Someday I'm not going to get it back." Her breath hitched as she tried to hold back the fear. D'argo took her hand and tried to soothe her, careful of her wounds.  
  
"We'll worry about that if it happens," he said.  
  
"But - "  
  
"*If* it happens," D'argo repeated. With his free hand he grabbed the flask Norianti had left for when she woke. "Now drink this," he said, holding it for Chiana.  
  
"What is it?" she eyed the concoction suspiciously. D'argo just gave her a look that told her he neither knew nor wanted to know. "Right," she muttered before obligingly drinking the potion with a grimace. With a sympathetic smile, D'argo replaced the empty cup on the work table. Chiana closed her eyes and settled back into the few pillows on her bed, a flitter of discomfort crossing her face before settling into the comfort of the numbing draught. Sleep would soon come.  
  
"Have we found John and Aeryn yet?" she asked softly. Her eyes remained closed against hope. D'argo gently stroked her forehead.  
  
"We're going to rescue them tomorrow," he told her.  
  
Chiana's eyes flashed open, locking onto his. "When are we leaving?"  
  
"You're not going," D'argo corrected her. No way, no how was he letting her go beaten to within an inch of her life.  
  
"D'argo you need me." Chiana tried to sit up, but he pushed her back down.  
  
"I'm taking the humans with me. We'll be fine," he insisted.  
  
"You're taking *four* humans with you and you'll be *fine*?"  
  
D'argo had to admit she had a point there. But the bruises and stitches told him that Chiana was safer on Moya. Right now, she wasn't in pain only because the old woman had her drugged against it.  
  
"Look," she said reasonably, squeezing his hand, "I can cover you from Lo'la. I won't leave her, but you need me down there. Just in case."  
  
And looking into her deep black eyes as she struggled against sleep, D'argo knew that even if he did say no, she wouldn't listen. "You're not coming, and that's the end of it."  
  
"D'argo, you can't keep me here."  
  
"Yes, I can."  
  
"You can't. I'll be safe in Lo'la." She struggled to sit up again, but this time her own muscles refused to support her.  
  
"Just go to sleep," D'argo sighed. Finally succumbing to the drugs, Chiana slowly went to sleep again, never relaxing her grip on his hand.  
  
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The humiliation of being poked and prodded buck naked by a bunch of funny- faced aliens wore away with the arns that passed. Tired, gagged, fed up, and helpless to do anything more than pull on his chains and worry about Aeryn, John retreated to his thoughts which thus far had remained sacrosanct. 'Scorpy did worse to me,' was the litany that ran through his mind as cold hands and needles went where they had no right to be. However it was little comfort to his present predicament. Even now his mind refused to confront the invasion of his body head on.  
  
Instead, he stuck to worrying about what was happening to Aeryn. If her 'examination' was anything like his, she and more importantly the baby were probably doing as well as he was. Hopefully better. Hopefully, she had escaped when they came for her, but John wasn't holding his breath. No, they would have to wait for the cavalry in the form of one pissed off Luxan and his badass ship. D'argo would come, John had faith in that.  
  
When the door opened, he automatically looked down to see what new toy the mad scientists had dragged in. But it wasn't a toy; instead it looked like the head honcho. The newcomer was a little taller than the others and dressed in black instead of the dull blue and gray of the pokers-and- prodders. And that was definitely a gun strapped to his leg. Must be compensating for something. John was once again painfully aware of his own lack of covering. Defiantly, he met the soldier's eyes and didn't back down.  
  
"The male?" the newcomer asked the chief scientist.  
  
"Yes, lord," said the latter as one would to a near equal. Unlike most of the others, he did not duck away from the 'lord.' "They appear to be of the same species, although as you know we have not finished our examination. Tomorrow we will begin the interrogation, if you wish to attend."  
  
"Hmmm," was the only reply as the lord once again raked his eyes over the human, his face splitting in what John had come to recognize as getting a better look. "There are no others?"  
  
"No, lord. Simply these two. It will be a shame to lose them when we begin our interior investigation."  
  
John jerked in response, his synthetic chains clattered against each other. That did not sound good.  
  
"Hmmm," the lord murmured again. "We shall see." He turned then and left the room with the chief scientist.  
  
As the rest of his torturers finished their tests, John's mind was spinning with the implications of 'interior investigation.' Somehow, he didn't think it just meant sticking more sticks up his butt. And what about Aeryn? The baby? What would happen when it was discovered? Images from his nightmares of when Aeryn was the Scarrens' prisoner leapt out him.  
  
D'argo would come. That was a simple fact. But timing had never been their strong point. As he was led back to their cell, John paid even closer attention to the hallways than he had on the way out. Hallways, turns, soldiers, scientists, hiding places, he hoped he could remember it all.  
  
Aeryn was sitting with her back against the far wall when John arrived. The same five guards that had escorted them out stood watch while his hands were unshackled and his gag removed. When they were finally alone, Aeryn said, "We have to get out of here."  
  
"So you heard about the 'internal investigation,' too?"  
  
She nodded in reply as he sat down next to her, pulling her close for warmth. "It'll be soon."  
  
"We have at least a day. They're gonna interrogate us tomorrow," John told her.  
  
"We should be out of here by then."  
  
"You got a plan?"  
  
Aeryn smiled. "I've been thinking."  
  
"Good." John kissed her. "So have I."  
  
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* 


	10. Escape n Rescue

Section 10: Escape n Rescue  
  
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John and Aeryn slept in turns that night, as much as either one of them could sleep. Having put a whispered plan together, they now only had to wait for the graveyard shift to set themselves free. It was a long cold wait.  
  
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"Oh, no!" said D'argo when he saw her in the maintenance bay with Norianti. "No!" He came to a halt with the four humans a step behind.  
  
"D'argo - "  
  
"You are not coming with us!" his voice was close to, but not quite a shout.  
  
"What? What's going on?" asked O'Neill, who due to shooting the DRD, didn't have translator microbes. D'argo ignored him. So did Chiana.  
  
"D'argo, you need me to cover you," she insisted, her head cocking to the side. "The old woman gave me some stuff, I'm not in any pain."  
  
"You're on drugs and you expect me to let you handle my ship?" he demanded. He glared at both her and Norianti, angry that the old healer would even consider helping Chiana put herself in harms way.  
  
"She thinks fine," Norianti told him primly. "And she should go. You can take her or Stark, but I don't think he's a very good choice." She leaned in and whispered, "Unbalanced."  
  
And while D'argo agreed that Stark was the last person he needed to go with them, there was no way he was letting Chiana, barely a day recovered, come with them. She could barely stand as it was.  
  
"Do you mind explaining what's going on here?" O'Neill asked impatiently.  
  
"Chiana was just wishing us luck," D'argo told him tightly.  
  
"I'm going with you," the Nebari quickly corrected him in English.  
  
"With us?" O'Neill asked skeptically, no happier than D'argo was about it.  
  
"I thought you were blind," said Jackson.  
  
"I got better," Chiana replied. "Now we need to go."  
  
"Oh, no!" O'Neill echoed D'argo's earlier protest. "No way. Yesterday you were almost dead."  
  
"And you'll be dead if I don't go," Chiana countered. "I'm covering you from Lo'la."  
  
"Chiana - " D'argo warned.  
  
But she just glared at him. "You can't stop me."  
  
D'argo considered tongue-ing her, but that would make her hit the floor hard, and she didn't need more bruises on top of her current injuries.  
  
"D'argo, please," she asked. And so help him, D'argo couldn't say no because he knew she just couldn't sit this out. She was functional, she would stay in his ship, and she could cover them. With their luck, they would need her, as much as he hated to admit it.  
  
"You have plenty of painkillers?" he finally asked.  
  
"You can't be serious?" O'Neill protested as Chiana nodded with a grateful smile. "We are going into a combat situation. She is too badly hurt to come with us."  
  
"Look, you already said it was a stupid plan. The more weapons we have the better chance we have of getting out alive," D'argo snapped, mad now at having to defend putting Chiana in danger.  
  
"She should not be going in there, Captain," O'Neill glared at him angrily. The other three humans looked uncertain about letting Chiana go, but by mutual consent let their leader voice their concerns. "If she collapses from exhaustion, or gets hurt what good will she be then?"  
  
"And if she saves our lives?" D'argo countered. "The decision isn't up to you."  
  
"Doesn't look like it's up to you either," O'Neill snapped back. D'argo bristled at the obvious challenge to his authority but let it pass in favor of reminding himself why he had been voted captain in the first place: to keep Moya and her crew safe and together. And right now John and Aeryn were in danger. The humans, surprisingly, seemed competent enough, but just the idea of Chiana backing them up made him feel better.  
  
"The decision stands," he told O'Neill. "Let's go." With a last hostile look at the humans, D'argo went to help Chiana up into Lo'la.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
The sounds outside the door had quieted arns ago. Aeryn hoped she was correct in her estimate of the time, but figured she couldn't be that far off. She'd tried counting away the microts while John rested, getting lost several times, but nevertheless, keeping a rough handle on the time.  
  
John was sitting in front of her between her legs, her arms wrapped closely round him as much for her warmth as his. His head rested against her shoulder where he had finally fallen into a light sleep. "John," Aeryn leaned down and whispered into his ear.  
  
"Mmmrrr," he responded sleepily.  
  
"John, wake up," she repeated, stroking his hair. "It's time."  
  
"Mmmm, 'kay." He shifted against her and opened his eyes before sitting up. A shock of cold air hit Aeryn's chest where he had lain. "Frell, it's cold," John muttered at their loss of contact. As unobtrusively as possible, he rolled onto his hands and knees and pretended to throw up. Aeryn placed a hand on his forehead and looked worried for the benefit of any hidden surveillance. They weren't sure if they were being observed, but had decided to err on the side of caution.  
  
When John finished heaving, he rolled onto his back, clutching his stomach and moaning as if he was in pain. "Get ready," Aeryn whispered to him. John grabbed her hand and squeezed. It was now or never.  
  
"Hey!" Aeryn jumped up and dashed to the door. "Hey! We need help! He's sick!" She pounded on the door to get the guards' attention, fervently hoping that at this late hour they were half asleep and tired. "He's dying! We need help!" Aeryn shouted, banging harder on the door. She could hear confused rumblings faintly through the door, then a shouted order, but so far no movement to open it. "He's gonna die! He's vomiting blood! Help! Please!" she screamed as pitifully as possible, as if her mate were really on death's door. She heard more shouting, louder this time with a frantic edge to it.  
  
And then the jangle of someone on the other side unlocking the door.  
  
"Here they come," she hissed to John in warning.  
  
"Let's hope we were right," he muttered back. Aeryn silently agreed. From their earlier observations, they guessed there were three guards in their wing of the building, token security more for the benefit of the scientist than to prevent escapes since their cell was solid.  
  
Aeryn backed up to let the first armed guard in, meekly bowing her head as he passed her without a glance. He strode over to where John lay rolling on the floor, touching him lightly with his boot. John screamed. The guard jumped back, and the second one who stood by open door darted a nervous glance toward Aeryn. Still keeping up the appearance of a helpless female, the ex-soldier shifted closer. She didn't have long to wait.  
  
Holstering his weapon was John's guard's first mistake. Leaning over his prisoner to evaluate his condition was his second. The moment John reached up and twisted his neck with an audible crunch, Aeryn sprang at her own guard, sidestepping his gun and landing a Pantak jab to the center of his forehead. As he fell backward, she snatched his weapon out of his hand and shot the third guard who was waiting just outside the door. None of them had time to shout for help.  
  
Ducking back into their cell, Aeryn went to help John strip the guards, but they had only gotten a far as weapons and jackets when the alarm went off.  
  
"Frell," Aeryn swore. Watched after all. Donning the short jackets, she and John ran from the cell down the hallway, away from where their earlier examination had taken place. Unfortunately the hallways all looked the same. Aeryn, in front, decided that avoiding recapture was of the utmost importance so they ran away from the sound of pounding feet. Behind her, John tried the doors they passed in search of a hiding place, but so far they had no luck.  
  
And even less when three soldiers turned the corner. "Down," shouted Aeryn, dropping to a knee to avoid the enemy fire as she laid into them with her own stolen gun. It gave her and John the time they needed to kill them.  
  
"Okay, that way's out," said John as he helped Aeryn to her feet.  
  
"And more coming," Aeryn stared down the still empty corridor where the sounds of more soldiers were growing. Turning back to John, she found him staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Think the ventilation system will support our weight?" he asked, dropping his eyes back to her. Glancing up at the vent, Aeryn shrugged.  
  
"If we can get in there."  
  
"Come on," said John. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward on of the locked doors. With two shots, they were in an office and barricading the door behind them with the triangular desk.  
  
"Over here," said Aeryn spotting the vent in the corner. John stood on the chair to reach the vent, and a few minutes later he had the cover off and was shimmying up. The sounds from the corridor suddenly escalated, the bodies found. As she got on the chair herself, Aeryn heard the order for a room by room search. Doors slammed as John helped her up. A microt later, the soldiers discovered their barricade.  
  
John and Aeryn used the cover of the barrage against the door to replace the vent and slither away.  
  
While their escape through the air ducts didn't help with figuring out how to get out of the building, it did keep them hidden from their pursuers. From what they could see through the vents they passed over, the soldiers hadn't yet figured out where they had disappeared to. Now they just needed a map.  
  
"So, right or left?" John asked at yet another junction. Aeryn thought back to the last two turns. They were trying to go in a zig-zag path in one direction in hope of finding an external wall somehow.  
  
"I think this one's a left," Aeryn replied. The words were barely out of her mouth when a large explosion knocked her into John and the wall. She could feel the shock wave reverberate through the metal around them. She looked at John who stared back at her with an unreadable expression. "Maybe we should go right," she suggested.  
  
"This better not be an ambush," John muttered as they turned right instead of left and headed toward the source of the explosion.  
  
"I bet it's D'argo," Aeryn said with a grin.  
  
A smile hovered around the corners of John's mouth. "Always has to make an entrance."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
When D'argo blew a hole in the side of the building, Jack put away his anger at the alien and focused on the mission at hand. Get in, find the humans, get out. Keep everyone alive. The only problem was that he was now second guessing his trust in these people. What kind of leader let an injured, defenseless girl go into a combat situation? And wasn't she blind yesterday?  
  
During the flight, Daniel had asked about it, but all he got was a vague answer about it being the price for seeing things. To Jack, that sounded like defeating the purpose of having eyes, but with aliens you never knew. She said it wouldn't happen on this trip, but Jack had a feeling she was just saying that to make them feel better.  
  
"Ready?" D'argo rose to join them at the doorway.  
  
"Good luck," Chiana paused him with a gloved hand on his arm. D'argo nodded and lifted her hand to his lips, but instead of kissing it, he spit onto her palm.  
  
"You too," he said. Then he did kiss her, briefly on the top of her head, before barking the command to open the door.  
  
"You guys ready?" Jack looked over his own team, trying to bury the uneasiness he felt in the mundane.  
  
"We are, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. A second later they were out the door.  
  
The alarm had gone up already, wailing throughout the area so loudly that they couldn't hear themselves think. It was just a matter of time before they were swarmed by security, whatever that turned out to be. The intel D'argo and Rygel had gathered indicated that there would only be sporadic guards in the facility that they would be able to take care of if they were spread out. So without wasting any time, Jack followed D'argo inside.  
  
The first ten minutes were like any other search and rescue inside a building. D'argo was with Jack on point, taking out the ever thickening guards as they made their way to the southwest corner where John and Aeryn were supposed to be. Daniel and Carter followed a step behind, checking doors to make sure they didn't have any unwanted surprises, and Teal'c covered their six as usual.  
  
Then everything went to hell in a hand-basket. Suddenly instead of the two guards they were expecting a whole squadron rounded the corner with guns blazing. Shouts and screams drowned out the noise of the alarm as they retreated to a T intersection to take cover. Unfortunately it was a dead end. D'argo was shouting what had to be curses has he fired his rifle at the vulnerable guards. Pinned down, they couldn't even retreat the way they had come.  
  
"Carter, Daniel, find us a way out of here!" Jack ordered, giving up on the zat and sticking with his trusty P-90. The place was crawling with soldiers who had also taken cover at the next intersection. This was officially not good.  
  
Through the noise, he could hear his scientists shooting out locks in an attempt to find another hallway, or anything they could use to their advantage. He just hoped they thought of something soon.  
  
"D'argo!"  
  
The sudden shout of an unfamiliar voice nearly gave Jack a heart attack. He looked up at the alien standing above him glancing around at the ceiling.  
  
"John?" he called.  
  
"Ghost of Christmas Past, buddy. We're right above you," the voice answered. They were in the ceiling, Jack realized. How did they get there? Exchanging a look with Teal'c, he turned back to the soldiers. He would ask later when they were safe.  
  
"Aeryn there?"  
  
Another alien language answered at length.  
  
"Alright. Chiana's in Lo'la at the end of this corridor." D'argo replied.  
  
"And tell your friend in green to get our clothes and guns," the first voice, John added.  
  
Jack looked at D'argo. "Well?" he asked.  
  
"They escaped on their own. They're going to cover us from above so we can get out of here and meet us back at Lo'la," D'argo informed him. "Jackson," he called down the hallway.  
  
"Yeah?" Daniel appeared out of one of the side rooms.  
  
"Take all the clothes and weapons you found," D'argo ordered. Jack nodded when Daniel gave him a questioning look.  
  
"So when do we go?" he asked, turning back to the soldiers around the corner. The sudden screams answered his question.  
  
"Now!" D'argo leapt into the hallway firing his rifle. Jack and Teal'c quickly joined him. Daniel and Carter followed with a bag of what had to be the clothes. "Run!" And they ran, picking up even more soldiers from other hallways as they did. Once they cleared the hole in the wall, D'argo was yelling at Chiana and his ship to open up and cover them, which she did. Ducking low, they raced for safety.  
  
"Where are they?" Chiana demanded as soon as they were on board.  
  
"They're coming," said D'argo taking over the controls. The soldiers retreated to the rim of the blast hole, but didn't back off further.  
  
"There!" cried Daniel, pointing. Jack followed his line of site to a pale figure in an air duct on the left side of the hole. The person held up three fingers to them and slowly counted down. When he reached his fist, D'argo fired the big guns again just to the right. As the wall once again exploded, two people dropped down from the duct, firing guns at the remaining soldiers as they ran for the ship. D'argo barked more commands to open the door, and they were aboard. SG-1 turned to meet them as D'argo lifted off and shot them into space.  
  
"Hi," said the man from where he lay gasping on the floor, wearing only a jacket tied around his waist. The woman lay next to him, also gasping for breath, wearing her jacket properly, but nothing else. Jack looked away in embarrassment and turned back to the man.  
  
Before he could say anything, Chiana pushed past him. "John, Aeryn!" she cried happily as they got to their feet.  
  
"Whoa, Pip, what happened to you?" asked the man, John, as the white girl gave him a careful hug.  
  
"Stuff, you know," she evaded the question. "These guys found me, got me to D'argo."  
  
The man eyed Jack and his teammates over Chiana's head. "Colonel Jack O'Neill," Jack took the opportunity to introduce himself. "Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c."  
  
"John Crichton," the man extended his hand. Jack shook it firmly. "You have our clothes?"  
  
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* 


	11. Who are you and where do you come from?

Section 11: Who are you and where do you come from?  
  
************************************************************************ ***********************************************************************  
  
Daniel was flustered as he retrieved the bag he had stuffed the clothes in. It didn't help that the woman, Aeryn Sun, glared at him the whole time, just daring him or anyone to look at her the wrong way. A little embarrassed himself to be still standing there staring at the two naked people they had just rescued - or been rescued by - Jack turned his back and said, "We'll just give you some privacy." He glanced over at Teal'c who looked back with a small smile Jack couldn't help but mirror. Sneak peaks at gorgeous women just couldn't be left unappreciated, no matter how wrong it was. And it was funny to see Danny all worked up. Carter just rolled her eyes at them.  
  
"So, Chiana, what's going on?" he heard John ask behind them. The girl apparently felt no need to turn her back, and surprisingly, Crichton and Sun didn't complain. She spent the next five minutes explaining to her friends in her own language.  
  
"Humans, huh?" said Crichton when she finished. "You can turn around now."  
  
The first though that jumped into Jack's head upon seeing them dressed was that they had to be hot in all that leather. The second was that he was dealing with two dangerous people. But that was probably a reaction to the all-black Matrix ensembles that screamed 'I know how to hurt you' to anything with eyes.  
  
"Uh, yes. We're humans from Earth," Daniel answered. "Though from what Rygel and D'argo have told us, not your Earth."  
  
"We think this is an alternate reality to ours," continued Carter. "I think the planet we landed on is an alternate version of the one in our reality. When we came through the wormhole we must have passed through either a radiation field in subspace or encountered - "  
  
"Carter, English," Jack pleaded. He was getting a headache.  
  
"Sir, this is a boiled down as I can make it."  
  
"It's alright, Joe - "  
  
"Jack."  
  
"Right," Crichton accepted the correction. He moved toward the wall and sat down between Aeryn and Chiana. SG-1 followed suit. "Back up a sec. How did you get on a planet if you came through a wormhole?"  
  
"We came through the stargate," Carter replied, as surprised as Jack was at the question. Both Crichton and Sun looked at Chiana who just shrugged nonchalantly.  
  
"I didn't understand this part," she told them.  
  
"The stargate is a device that creates a stable wormhole between planets. You enter in a gate address to another stargate and then you can just walk from one world to another. We explained it to D'argo and Rygel," Carter said patiently.  
  
"We didn't understand it either," D'argo called from the pilot's seat. For some reason that made Jack feel better. Looked like Carter had her work cut out for her here to convince these people about alternate realities and explain gate technology. Only problem was you needed her kind of PhD to understand most of it, and Jack for one didn't want to suffer through the lecture.  
  
"Just accept it okay?" he told them. They stared at him like he was crazy.  
  
"Accept that a wormhole can come into contact with a planet and the planet still be there afterwards?" demanded Sun skeptically.  
  
"Yeah," said Daniel, slightly confused, wondering like Jack, what she meant.  
  
"So you're saying that you have this thing that . . . controls wormholes?" asked Crichton.  
  
"Well, it's not like we carry it around in our pocket," said Jack.  
  
"But yes," Carter finished.  
  
"Blue, swirly thing. Takes you to other places too far to go by ship," Crichotn went on, still clearly not believing them.  
  
"Yes," Jack hissed. This was getting old. "Stargate. Big circle of stone that looks like a big puddle of water standing the wrong way up."  
  
"Must be that then," said Crichton totally confusing Jack now. The guy had a weird look in his eye that seemed to be looking through them.  
  
"What are you referring to?" asked Teal'c.  
  
"Your stargate," Crichton answered. "It keeps the wormhole from swallowing the planet. How big is it?"  
  
"About six meters in diameter," said Carter. He seemed surprised by that.  
  
"Wow, small."  
  
"How big are yours?" Jack demanded, insulted at the slight.  
  
"Much bigger," Crichton smiled. "But she's right about the alternate reality thing," he gestured toward Carter. "Except it wasn't a radiation field or a quantum scattering in subspace or solar flares that got you here."  
  
"Oh?" Jack raised his eyebrows, partly in surprise that he spoke Carter, partly because of the way he dismissed the second part of her theory. She was usually right about this sort of thing.  
  
"You just came out at the wrong place."  
  
Now that sounded entirely too simple to Jack. In fact it was something he could have come up with and saved the trouble of the whole discussion. Jack slapped his hand to his forehead in the classic light bulb switching on gesture. "That's it! We came out at the wrong place! Mystery solved, Carter."  
  
His second in command shot him a withering look before asking, "What do you mean, wrong place? We dialed a specific address that should have sent us to P5V-344. Any deviation would mean interference from an outside source."  
  
"So your stargate works like a phone?" Crichton asked. Carter nodded in reply and explained dialing planets again based on their coordinates in space. Crichton looked like he was actually listening now. "And you just walk through?" he asked when she finished.  
  
"Our bodies are molecularized and reconstituted at the other end of the wormhole," said Carter.  
  
"Pretty powerful phone you got there," said Crichton seriously. He looked pensive, and Jack did not take that as a good sign.  
  
"You still haven't explained this wrong place thing," he said suggestively.  
  
"Well I don't know much about your wormhole tamer, but wild wormholes out here connect billions of places and times." Looking at Jack he clarified. "Think of one like a big circular highway with lots of exits. Each exit leads to a different place in space-time. Exits that are close together are similar, varying in time and by different decisions that are made at specific points in time so you get your alternate realities - unrealized realities from the one we're in right now. It's hard to explain," Crichton shrugged and looked away. "Since you're not from my Earth, you're probably from one of those. It's kinda creepy actually."  
  
"Alright," said Carter. Jack could see her analyzing the new information and tying it into what she already understood about wormholes. "So our gate network is just one set of possibilities in a single wormhole network tied together by the same temporal indicator?"  
  
Crichton nodded. "That'd be my guess. The gates must let you navigate safely around unrealized realities and keep your time straight."  
  
"How do you navigate, John Crichton?" asked Teal'c.  
  
"Very carefully," he answered with a token smile. "It's hard to explain."  
  
"We're almost therer," D'argo called from the cockpit. The sudden turbulence or entering the atmosphere where Moya was parked, forestalled any further discussion. Soon, they were flying through the open door in the ship's hull and landing. D'argo talked to his ship to get it open and the six of them disembarked. Rygel, Nori, and Stark were there to greet them.  
  
"Sparky, my man!" Crichton shouted, snatching up Rygel and swinging him around amid the slug's profane protests. But Jack noticed that he didn't even try to escape in his flying chair. Meanwhile the old woman greeted both Chiana and Sun warmly, puttering about with her pouches for Chiana who was coming off her adrenaline and other painkillers. Stark hesitantly approached them, and Sun turned and spoke directly to him. He smiled and took the hand she offered.  
  
"They are a very close group," Teal'c observed as they followed D'argo over.  
  
"Ahh. The humans!" Nori smiled at them. "Did you have fun?" Her third eye blinked blue, and Jack couldn't help but smile at the crazy woman.  
  
"We ended up being the ones who needed rescuing, but yeah," he told her.  
  
"But you are still here and unhurt," Nori smiled, beckoning them closer.  
  
"Fun?" Daniel asked quietly so only his teammates could hear.  
  
"Well, you know," Jack gestured vaguely. Daniel only gave him a wry smile.  
  
"So what now?" Carter asked D'argo as Crichton put Rygel down. The tall alien was watching Chiana. He shrugged.  
  
"Chiana needs to rest," he said, moving to help her.  
  
"So do we," said Crichton. "Didn't sleep last night."  
  
"And then there was the escaping," Sun added.  
  
"So we'll hit the sack till dinner," Crichton finished, taking her hand.  
  
"Rygel can take you to your quarters," said D'argo over his shoulder as he left with Chiana once more in his arms.  
  
"What?" squawked the little slug. Jack smiled as they began to argue over who should do what while he, Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c followed them into the golden ship.  
  
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* 


	12. Walkabout

Section 12: Walkabout  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
Despite his protests, Rygel did finally lead SG-1 to their rooms. The others branched off into other identical corridors early on, leaving them to the arrogant and disgruntled ramblings of the little alien. Ahead of him, Daniel valiantly tried to carry on a conversation, but he was having little luck.  
  
"But no one ever listens to me! I, who was the best dominar since Rygel the Thirteenth!"  
  
"I'm sure you were an excellent ruler," said Daniel. "But aren't the needs of a ship different than those of an empire?"  
  
Jack tuned them out again. They'd been going on for the entire walk about how Rygel got no respect. Well, Jack didn't get any respect either, but you didn't see him complaining. And did everything have to look the same here? Jack had tried to keep track of where they were in relation to the closest exit, but not only were there no markers at the many junctions but the halls were curved as well, disorienting the hell out of him. All in all, Jack was irritated.  
  
Though to be fair, it probably had more to do with the alternate reality thing than anything else. Teal'c and Carter were discussing it behind him in un-boiled down terms. Something to do with wormhole theory. Jack ignored them too until they reached their rooms.  
  
"So," he said after Rygel left them. The room was as bare and boring as it had been the first time. "Who wants to go exploring?"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Exploring, Carter. It is part of our job description." Jack enjoyed the slightly puzzled, more exasperated expression on her face.  
  
"Jack, you do realize that we will probably get lost," said Daniel.  
  
"Teal'c knows his way around, right?" Jack looked at the Jaffa who merely raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I will try to keep track of our movements, however this is a most disorienting place," Teal'c replied.  
  
"Right. No blaming Teal'c if we get lost," Jack nodded. "We can leave our heavy weapons here. I don't think they'll try anything, but be on your guard just in case - what?"  
  
Daniel was staring at him with a confused look. "Nothing. It's just . . . well first you're all gung hoe to find out more about this place and now you're leaving your P-90?"  
  
Okay, so it wasn't his normal MO, Jack could admit that, but really. "Do you see anything interesting to do in this room?" he asked, waving a hand to emphasize the complete boredom surrounding them. "And we'll still be armed in case anything happens. You're forgetting I like these people. They're my kind of people."  
  
"Your kind of people, sir?" Carter asked.  
  
Jack shifted under the combined gaze of his team. He was known for not liking most of the people they met, but these guys were definitely his kind of people. "They're not the smiles and knives type. You probably noticed that they don't exactly hide how dangerous they are. They haven't lied to us, they've kept us in the loop, trusted us with our weapons, and didn't leave their friends in what looked like a hopeless situation. My kind of people. So let's go already."  
  
Not bothering to hide their smiles, Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c followed him out.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Aeryn wasn't sure what woke her. In the quiet, she listened for a disturbance but didn't hear anything except Moya's normal hum. Beside her, John lay sprawled on his back, his left hand tangled with her right in a mess of loosely bound fingers. He was so peaceful in his sleep for once. Troubled dreams finally gave way to exhaustion and recent good luck. Aeryn knew better than to jinx them by hoping it would last.  
  
She closed her eyes but couldn't go back to sleep. Now that she was awake, her mind was working in overdrive, skittering over the last few days and John's ill-timed proposal. They better have the wedding soon before their luck broke. Aeryn smiled as she thought about their conversation in their cell, wondering if tomorrow was too soon. The wedding would be in Pilot's Den of course. Maybe they should wait until he and Moya were well enough to go back into space.  
  
Thinking about him made Aeryn want to go check on Pilot again. She and John had stopped by before, but now that she couldn't sleep she might as well go. She kissed John lightly then slipped from bed, pulled on her boots, and headed toward the Den.  
  
She was halfway there when voices floated down from tier nine. Pausing, Aeryn listened, smiling when she recognized two of the humans.  
  
"We should have turned right back there."  
  
"If we had, we'd be going in a circle."  
  
"No, we're going in a circle now. We took a left before and a left this time."  
  
"Hello," Aeryn called as they came into view. Jack O'Neill and Dr. Jackson both pulled out of their bickering in surprise.  
  
"See," O'Neill gestured at her while grinning smugly at his friend. "Left."  
  
"Whatever, Jack," his friend all but ignored him. "Aeryn, isn't it?"  
  
Aeryn was pleased he remembered. "Yes. What are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, just exploring," said O'Neill lightly. "Our room was kind of . . . dull."  
  
Aeryn nodded in understanding. Boredom was a constant companion. "Any luck finding entertainment?" she asked doubting they had. After all they seemed more lost than occupied.  
  
"We found this one room with sciency stuff that had Carter going gaga," O'Neill replied.  
  
"Wall to wall paper covered in equations," Jackson clarified for her.  
  
Aeryn nodded again. John's wormhole equations.  
  
"She and Teal'c are still there. I hope you don't mind." O'Neill's tone was almost challenging her to say that she did, testing the limits of their hospitality.  
  
Aeryn shrugged and resumed walking toward the Den, the humans joining her. "It's John's equations," she told them. "I'd be amazed if she could understand it."  
  
"Oh, she'll understand it," said O'Neill. "She's a theoretical astrophysicist. Knows lots of big words and stuff." Aeryn glanced at him wondering what one had to do with the other, but Jack just smiled. "Trust me. She's having the time of her life right now."  
  
"With equations? Half of which she probably can't read?" Aeryn asked in disbelief. At both O'Neill's and Jackson's nod she added, "Strange woman. Though it doesn't really surprise me."  
  
"Why not?" Daniel looked at her curiously.  
  
Aeryn smiled at the concentration she saw on his face and felt her guard slipping. She couldn't seem to not like them; they reminded her too much of John in each their own way. Which was why she really wasn't surprised by the woman's hobby. "Humans are strange." At the double look she got, Aeryn just smiled.  
  
"Strange huh?" O'Neill smiled back. "I guess."  
  
"Of course it's all about cultural context," said Jackson thoughtfully.  
  
"Daniel, shut up," said O'Neill quickly. "She doesn't want to hear about the cultural context of anything. Forgive him," he turned to Aeryn. "He's as bad as Carter when it comes to people stuff."  
  
"I'm sure he is. And I do understand," she told Jackson. "About differing values in different cultures. Living on Moya has been . . . "  
  
"Interesting?" Jackson offered.  
  
"Yes." She might have used a stronger word, but how did you explain this life to people who hadn't lived it?  
  
"So where are we going?" O'Neill asked in the silence that followed.  
  
"To see Pilot," Aeryn answered, glad of the change in subject.  
  
"The one that interfaces with the ship?"  
  
Aeryn looked at him in surprise, wondering what D'argo had told them. "I wouldn't call it interfacing," she said. "He and Moya are symbiotes."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"What?" Aeryn didn't miss the grimace that passed over O'Neill, or the look he shared with Jackson at the mention of symbiotes.  
  
"Nothing, really. Just another cultural difference," said Jackson. "In our reality most of the symbiotes we've encountered - "  
  
"Try to kill us," O'Neill finished.  
  
"Pilot won't kill you," Aeryn reassured them. "And even if he wanted to, he's too weak at the moment." The men nodded, but there was still a wary look in O'Neill's eyes. "And if you so much as think about harming him, I'll shoot you."  
  
O'Neill grinned. "If he's worthy of your loyalty, than I'm sure he's a good guy."  
  
"The best," Aeryn told him solemnly. One of her first true friends on Moya, with them through everything. She would do almost anything for him.  
  
"So does he have a name other than 'Pilot'?"  
  
Aeryn shook her head. "His language is too complex for anyone other than Pilots and Leviathans to understand, so his true name doesn't translate."  
  
"So how do you communicate?" asked Jackson.  
  
"He simplifies his speech for the microbes," said Aeryn. "We're almost there."  
  
Around the next curve was the door to the Den. Aeryn leaned over to hit the door mechanism and led her companions in. From their muted expressions of awe, she could tell they were impressed. The Den was a huge cavern with a ceiling that extended hundreds of metras up and a floor covered in bat dung hundreds of metras below the walkway on which they stood. All around was empty space and in the center was Pilot at his console. At the moment, his purple shell head hung in weariness, closed eyes opening when they three of them entered.  
  
"Aeryn," he breathed happily.  
  
"Hello, Pilot," she smiled. Upon reaching his console, she climbed up and sat next to him. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd drop by."  
  
Pilot had a look of soft surprise on his face at her unexpected concern. He really shouldn't have been, but Aeryn knew that was just the way he was: always there, always called upon, and asking nothing in return.  
  
"This is Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson," Aeryn introduced the men behind her who had recovered from their own surprise of meeting Pilot.  
  
"Call me Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet you," Daniel said softly, approaching the console and offering a hand for Pilot to shake.  
  
"Jack," the Colonel waved, nodding to Aeryn as well.  
  
"They're the ones from the unrealized reality," Aeryn continued.  
  
"Yes. O'Neill destroyed one of my DRDs," Pilot leveled a half-hearted glare at O'Neill - Jack - who looked bewilderedly to Aeryn for an explanation.  
  
Aeryn regarded him neutrally, not wanting Pilot to see her amusement. "He said you destroyed a DRD."  
  
"Sorry," Jack had the grace to look sheepish. "I got a little carried away."  
  
"It's all right. Just don't make a habit of it," Aeryn replied.  
  
Pilot shot one last glare at Jack before turning back to the woman beside him. "Why couldn't you sleep?"  
  
Aeryn glanced uncertainly at the humans who watched them a little uncomfortably. Wondering if she trusted them enough. She must on some level, otherwise they would be locked in their room and not chatting with her and Pilot here. And even though they had just met, she found that she liked them. They would find out soon enough anyway, she reasoned, especially if they were stuck in this reality which John said was probable. So justifying herself, she answered in English. "I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about having the wedding before our luck changed. And wondering when that would be."  
  
"I see," said Pilot gently as he extended a claw which Aeryn took gratefully.  
  
"What?" "Uhh. . ." Jack and Daniel both looked a little stunned. Daniel managed to lift his jaw off the floor first. "You're getting. . . uh. . . married?" he asked as politely as he could with a slight hand movement at he two of them.  
  
And suddenly Aeryn imagined what she and Pilot must look like, sitting close together, holding hands as familiar as lovers. She couldn't help the burst of laughter that broke its way free, nor the one that followed. Pilot regarded her strangely and asked what was wrong, but Aeryn didn't have the breath to answer. After a hundred microts, she pulled herself together. It really felt good to have something as simple as a misunderstanding to laugh at after the past few monens - the past cycle even.  
  
"Care to share the joke?" asked Jack who looked a little put out at not knowing what was going on.  
  
"Pilot you know I care for you a great deal, right?" Aeryn turned instead to her friend.  
  
"Yes, but . . . oh." The puzzled look on Pilot's face cleared.  
  
"So you're marrying . . . ?" Daniel looked at her expectantly.  
  
Aeryn couldn't help but smile at his earnestness. "John." She turned back to Pilot. "I was wondering when wouldn't be too soon for you and Moya."  
  
"Anxious?" asked Jack with a sly grin.  
  
"Jack," Daniel frowned at his friend.  
  
"What? I mean who isn't anxious for their wedding day?" he said innocently leaving the rest unsaid.  
  
Aeryn resisted the urge to point out that that was hardly a problem. "Pilot?"  
  
"Whenever you wish, Aeryn Sun," said Pilot. "Moya and I will be proud to attend."  
  
"Thank you. So, tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.  
  
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* 


	13. Equations

Section 13: Equations  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
It was both amazing and frustrating, in Sam's opinion. The banners of equations that draped across the room like a really big toilet papering were first of all not in any coherent order, and secondly, only half written in symbols she understood. She was trying to decide if that really bothered her though. Because what she could read was enough to make her head spin.  
  
From what she gathered, it was wormhole theory, but wormhole theory expanded well beyond Sam's research, most notably in how the fourth dimension was taken into consideration. Time, in Sam's experience, was fairly constant. The standard hours passed the same on Earth as they did on other planets even if they did not correspond to the planets' rotation or orbit. In short, gate travel was simply a physical dislocation.  
  
But on the butcher paper scattered everywhere, the temporal variable was not constant. Einstein would have a field day with this.  
  
"Major Carter, are you alright?" Teal'c's calm voice broke through Sam's thoughts.  
  
"What? Oh. Yes. Fine." She glanced at him curiously, wondering why he had asked.  
  
"You have not moved for some time," he answered her silent query.  
  
"Sorry." Sam grinned wryly. "It's just that this has given me a lot to think about. What I've read, or can read at all, doesn't contradict what we've learned about wormholes, but it certainly takes it to new levels. Crichton said that he thought the stargate acted as a navigational control for a wormhole that kept us in the right time. I'm wondering if what happened when we went back to 1969 wasn't just the solar flares affecting the wormhole, but actually setting it loose from the stargate's control briefly." Sam stopped even though Teal'c seemed to be paying attention. He probably was listening, but she could tell he wasn't that interested. "Anyway, I can't wait to talk to him about it."  
  
"I'm sure you will find a way," said Teal'c. Sam grinned again and Teal'c smiled lightly back before turning his attention back to the yellow robot working in the corner. If Sam hadn't been as caught up in the treasure before her, she might have been interested too.  
  
As it was, she awkwardly shuffled the six foot paper she had been studying aside and stood up, wondering where to try next. Looking around, a ragged edge caught her eye on the opposite side of the room from Teal'c. Curious, Sam waded to it and pulled it out. It turned out to be much shorter than any of the other pages she'd seen - about two feet square. The rest of it had been burned away.  
  
"Teal'c, look at this?" Sam found a matching burned piece a few feet away and held the two pieces up for her friend to see.  
  
Teal'c looked curiously first at the pieces then at her. "Why would they destroy this particular set of equations?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it contained dangerous information they didn't want anyone else to find."  
  
"In that case, would not all of this have been destroyed? D'argo made it clear that wormhole knowledge was itself dangerous."  
  
Sam studied the writing at the top, but it was mostly symbols she didn't know so she didn't know what it referred to. "It was something to do with this information specifically," she murmured. "Why? What was so important it had to be destroyed?"  
  
"Not important." Sam jumped at the unexpected voice from the door. John Crichton stood there looking like he just woke up.  
  
"Not important?" she echoed, glancing back at the charred papers.  
  
"Nah, just wrong."  
  
"And for this you burned the incorrect information?" Teal'c raised a disbelieving eyebrow.  
  
Crichton rubbed his chin absently, looking around at all the scattered equations. "Well, shot it actually." Off their looks he added, "I was a little stressed."  
  
"Really." Sam couldn't help the amused smile from cracking over her face. He sounded just like the Colonel. "Ever heard of an eraser?"  
  
Crichton grinned back. "Not out here. Anyway, there wasn't time. So Jack said you were a theoretical astrophysicist."  
  
"Yeah," said Sam happily. "And you? I mean you wrote this stuff. . . "  
  
"Theoretical sciences and cosmic theory." Crichton shrugged like it wasn't anything to be proud of.  
  
Sam liked his modesty but pushed on anyway. "Can I ask you about these equations? I understand some of it from my work with the stargate wormholes but there's a lot of alien symbols that I don't know - " She stopped rambling as Crichton just stared at her with his own amused smile shaking his head.  
  
"I don't understand most of it either," he said into the quiet.  
  
"But - "  
  
"It's in my head. I wrote it so I could see it, figure it out. Master it." He paused, his gaze lingering over the messy room. "Wormholes are . . . deadly," he said sadly, the smile gone. "I should burn the rest of this."  
  
"But you can't," Sam protested, shocked at the thought. She had the sudden urge to protect this treasure trove. "There's so much we could learn. You can't destroy it. It's too important."  
  
"And that's why I have to," Crichton countered. He laughed hollowly. "You don't get it do you? Wormholes . . ." He paused, searching the ceiling for words. "I have . . . power over the universe. I can destroy a star. . . hell, a solar system if I wanted to." He looked directly at Sam. "And trust me when I tell you there are Hitlers out here that will stop at nothing to be able to blow everyone to kingdom come." His voice was hash, bitter even. Sam resisted the urge to step back away from him. "Enough people have died," said Crichton softly. He looked away from her and Teal'c.  
  
"So what about us?" asked Sam. "How do we get back to our reality without this?"  
  
"I'll help you get back if I can," Crichton glanced up. "I doubt I could teach you anyway - I use it mostly by instinct. But don't get your hopes up. We'll either have to do something to your stargate without getting killed by the fridge-faces or find another wild wormhole."  
  
"Do you not have knowledge of any local wormholes?" asked Teal'c.  
  
Crichton didn't look at them; instead he turned toward the door. "Not anymore," was all he said.  
  
"Why not?" asked Sam.  
  
He kept walking but said, " 'Cause we collapsed it." Sam exchanged a shocked look with Teal'c, feeling once again out of her depth. "Come on," said Crichton. "It's supper time."  
  
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* 


	14. Storm Front

Section 14: Storm Front  
  
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"But couldn't we find a sun within a reasonable distance that has flares. Your ship is a deep space ship isn't it?"  
  
She wouldn't let up. Ever since they had left his latest wormhole room, Sam Carter had been bombarding John with questions and ideas, one after another, trying to figure out a way to make or modify another wormhole. She started with the easy stuff - making a wormhole and was now getting into the parts John didn't rightly understand. He tried to be patient with her. He understood where she was coming form, really he did, but dammit, he was tired and hungry and sick of wormholes.  
  
"Maybe," John replied with a sigh. "Thing is we'd also need a planet to use as a gravity source that wasn't too far away."  
  
"But if we found one, you could do it?"  
  
"Maybe," he repeated. "The wormhole wouldn't be that stable though, and since I've never been to your reality, I probably wouldn't be able to find it."  
  
"And how do you find these alternate realities?" asked Teal'c.  
  
Now there was the $64,000 if John ever heard one. John didn't answer for a minute, trying to pinpoint what went on in his head. "It's kinda like . . . I can get to places I've been, times that are close enough to where I'm supposed to be, though Einstein said that was real dangerous. It's like a . . . familiar scent . . . like you wake up in the morning and your mom's cooking breakfast and it takes you a minute to sort out what's she's frying, but you know it's breakfast. And then suddenly, you know it's bacon and French toast. And that's when I come out."  
  
"French toast?" Teal'c raised a puzzled eyebrow.  
  
John turned to the wide-eyed Major. "You understand what I'm saying right?" Though from the looks of it, she didn't. With a sigh, John continued down the corridor.  
  
"You navigate by smell?" she asked for clarification.  
  
"Yeah." He didn't look at her.  
  
"Okay." Sam was silent and, when John snuck a look at her, processing his hound dog technique. He could have sworn he saw a grin etch across her face before she turned back to him. "Okay," she repeated. "Let's just say for the moment that you could navigate back to our reality. Could you still make the wormhole?"  
  
This time John turned to face her. "*If* we find a sun with flare activity, *if* that sun has a planet I can slingshot off of while the flares are going, *if* the wormhole was stable enough afterwards, and *if* I could nose out your reality, the plan would work. That's a lot of 'ifs," he added gently. Sam looked away, hurt by his sudden attack, making John feel like he had just kicked a puppy. "Look. . . It's not that I don't want to help. We'll figure something out. Just . . . I don't know yet."  
  
Sam mustered up a smile that John returned. They continued on in silence until John led them to Chiana's quarters. Surprised, Sam and Teal'c stopped at the doorway, unsure of their welcome. Chiana was in bed, nestled against a sleeping D'argo. Her eyes flickered open as soon as she heard him come in, following him as he came and sat beside her.  
  
"Hey, Pip." John reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "How you doin'?"  
  
Chiana's smile faded into a grimace. "Hurts. Grandma won't give me anymore stuff since I was so loaded before. Said it'd kill me. Like I'm not dying now."  
  
"You're not," John told her. God, he hated seeing her like this: still, quiet, and in pain. Normally she was full of cynicism and life, but now bitterness had crept back in and taken root. He could see it now that she was off the old woman's drugs. She was frail and tired, striped for the moment of the anger that would come. John wanted to ask her about what had happened, let her vent and rage as she never would against D'argo, help hold her together when she finally fell apart. Then he wanted to find the bastards that had done this to her and tear them to shreds with his bare hands, but he knew he'd have to fight the Luxan for that privilege.  
  
"How are you?" asked Chiana when the silence dragged on.  
  
John glanced down when she grabbed his hand. He didn't want to think about how he was because then he'd have to think about his last few days held in naked captivity, being prodded by scientists, cutting himself away from his home, cutting Pilot away from Moya, Aeryn, and his impending fatherhood. Except that last one wasn't so bad.  
  
"Did Aeryn tell you we're having the baby?"  
  
"You are?" Delight lit Chiana's face up like a Christmas tree.  
  
"You are?" D'argo quit pretending to be asleep. John smiled at the simple grin that split his friend's face. "We knew you proposed - "  
  
"*I* knew you proposed," Chiana broke in. "But you're really having a baby?"  
  
"Yep," John grinned proudly, once again feeling the sudden happiness that made him want to shout out the good news. "It's mine. . . or his, but that doesn't matter. Ours, anyway."  
  
"So when are you getting married?" asked Chiana.  
  
"Soon as we can," he said. Just thinking about it made John grin wider. Married. To Aeryn. It was finally happening. Both Chiana and D'argo were smiling back at him. "D'argo, you'll be my best man, right?"  
  
"That stand by you thing? I'd be honored."  
  
"Hey! What about me? Can I be best woman?" Chiana asked.  
  
John squeezed the hand he still held. "You'll have to ask Aeryn, but I doubt she wants Granny to do it."  
  
Chiana giggled. "Rad. Cool," she added the earthism as an afterthought.  
  
"You gotta be mobile for the ceremony though, so I'll let you rest," said John. "I'll bring you guys something later."  
  
"Right. Go. Kiss Aeryn," D'argo ordered sternly. "And don't keep us waiting."  
  
"I won't." John dropped a kiss on Chiana's forehead and patted D'argo on the shoulder before leaving, the two humans in tow.  
  
"Congratulations," said Sam once they started down the hallway again.  
  
"Thanks." John smiled at her. "Do you have kids?"  
  
"No," she answered, startled by his question. "I'm not married either."  
  
"Married to your work?" He wasn't surprised when she nodded. After all, she went planet hopping for a living, and given the size of her gun, it was dangerous work. That and the sheer dedication it took to get into astrophysics didn't leave a lot of time for a social life. "What about you, T?"  
  
Teal'c regarded him for a moment before answering. "I have a half grown son." The dude seriously needed to get a second facial expression. "I do not get to see him very often."  
  
"I'm sorry," said John. He thought of Jothee and Talyn, the first broken, the second dead. "Is he safe?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That's something," he offered. Really he didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine being separated from his child, and honestly he didn't want to think about it. So much could go wrong . . . better not to drive himself crazy by dwelling on possibilities.  
  
They reached the center chamber where Rygel, Aeryn, Joe, and Jackson were already fixing a meal. Well, Aeryn and the humans were. Rygel had taken on the 'managerial' role.  
  
"Carter, Teal'c!" Joe - Jack, John reminded himself - was the first to notice their arrival. "Figured out how to get us home yet?"  
  
"Working on it, sir," Sam replied.  
  
John ignored the friendly banter that picked up around him about alternate realities as he made his way over to Aeryn. She smiled as he approached. "You stopped and saw Chiana?" she guessed the reason for his lateness, and John nodded. "How is she?"  
  
"Wants to be best woman in the wedding," he replied.  
  
"Jack said only the groom had a best man. I get a matron of honor and bridesmaids. We don't have any maids on board."  
  
"We'll improvise."  
  
"How is she really?"  
  
"In pain. Granny can't give her any more meds right now, so she's riding it out with D'argo, and before you say it, not that way." Aeryn grinned at him. "I'm worried about her," John went on soberly.  
  
"She's a survivor," said Aeryn. Her eyes were calm when they met his, saying so much more than words. They were all survivors and they would get through this random act of cruelty like they got through everything, by holding onto each other no matter how impossibly.  
  
"Aeryn, Crichton," Pilot's voice interrupted over the comms. Around them, the humans fell silent, waiting for an explanation.  
  
"What's up, Pilot?"  
  
"Moya senses . . . a ship approaching. Like the one before that took you only. . . much bigger."  
  
"Frell!" Aeryn spat the word out. "The last one was a fighter. This must be a troop transport."  
  
"What's going on?" asked Jack. All traces of his earlier joviality were gone leaving the colonel in charge.  
  
"Our friends didn't appreciate us leaving the party early," John told them.  
  
"Looks like a troop transport," added Aeryn in English this time.  
  
"Right. So what's the plan?"  
  
Plan? Frelled if John knew. Moya was a sitting duck and the fridge-faces were pissed off. Oh well. Like anything else was new.  
  
"Hide?" Aeryn suggested.  
  
"Split up and ambush?" he threw back. "D'argo?"  
  
"I heard," his friend's voice came back. "Everyone meet in Chiana's quarters. Pilot says they'll be here in a couple hundred microts."  
  
"No time," John and Aeryn said in unison. Exchanging wry smiles, they headed out. "We're on our way."  
  
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Okay, sorry there wasn't more here. But it's totally not my fault that John decided to go see how Chi was doing. I tried, I really did, but I couldn't stop him, (you know how he stubborn he gets). Anyway, I hope to have the next bit out by Sunday. Keep the pressure on.  
  
* 


	15. Rushing About

Section 15: Rushing About  
  
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"Hey!" Jack shouted, more than a little frustrated that he and his team were being kept completely in the dark about what the hell was going on. In the frenzy of imminent attack, all the aliens had reverted to speaking alien, and the one-sided part he heard from Crichton was filled with parts of the ship that meant absolutely nothing to him. "Will someone tell us what's going on here?"  
  
Aeryn and D'argo both looked at Crichton who explained. "We're going to set up an ambush."  
  
Jack waited a moment. "That's it?" he asked when Crichton didn't continue. "That's the plan?"  
  
"In a nutshell," said Crichton with a humorless smile that did little to reassure Jack. Sure they didn't have a lot of time, but there had to be something less . . . suicidal. Not that SG-1's luck was ever any better.  
  
"What kind of defenses does the ship have?" he asked.  
  
"Us," said Aeryn briskly. "And you if you'll help. We need to split up though. Chiana needs to get to safety, then we need to get weapons and get in position to hit and hit hard when they come aboard."  
  
"Okay." Jack's mind sped over the situation. He and his team didn't know the ship so if they were going to help they needed to disperse among D'argo's crew. "We have weapons and explosives with our stuff. How are you splitting up?"  
  
"D'argo's getting Chi to the upper levels, me and Aeryn are going to find as much firepower as we can, Granny and Stark are in charge of the poison, and Rygel's storing the food. We'll meet you back here and get you where we need you" Crichton rattled off as the others started to move out.  
  
"Wait," Jack snapped out. "Daniel, go with Chiana and stay with her, keep her safe. Teal'c you're with them," he pointed to the two crazies. "Carter, you take John to get our gear, and I'll go with Aeryn to get your weapons."  
  
D'argo's people stared at him then at each other, taken by surprise and not quite sure what to do about it.  
  
"Let's move people," Jack snapped. It had the desired effect. With a muttered 'okay' from Crichton, the aliens moved and headed out without disputing his orders. Jack hurried after Aeryn.  
  
Jogging behind the black, leather clad woman, Jack marveled again at her ability to navigate through the ship. Unerringly she quickly led him from room to room. The first ones were lived in with pillows and extra blankets on the beds ranging from practical to what had to be Rygel's extravagant. Little knick knacks dotted the shelves, most of them surprisingly recognizable from Earth. When asked, Aeryn's only comment was that the humans on Crichton's Earth had given them money to go shopping. He guessed they didn't have much currency in this part of the universe.  
  
Jack waited by the doors of each room while Aeryn went in, quickly found anything remotely resembling a weapon, checked it, and either left it or took it with her. It wasn't until the third room that she did this more than once. This room was the sparsest one he'd seen so far if he ignored the collection of large boxes at one end. Here, Aeryn grabbed another handgun like the ones both she and John wore, two rifles one of which she discarded, and something that resembled a rocket launcher.  
  
"So who's room is this?" Jack asked while she checked the weapon over. It really was a beauty, kind of like a shortened bazooka.  
  
"Mine," said Aeryn absently to Jack's surprise.  
  
"But I thought . . ." Jack trailed off when she finally looked up with a glare that told him to back off. He really shouldn't have been surprised after their earlier conversation about wedding traditions in which Aeryn had neither asked for nor given away anything personal.  
  
Aeryn turned back to her inspection. "I knew I shouldn't have let him borrow parts," she muttered, putting the gun back on the shelf. "It's frelled," she said louder to Jack, leading him back out.  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"John needed part of the triggering mechanism for a bomb."  
  
"Bomb?" he asked but Aeryn either didn't hear him or was ignoring the question. Jack got the feeling that she ran on two gears: friendly but distant and closed off soldier, and he knew better than to push his luck.  
  
"Aeryn, D'argo" Crichton's voice cut over the ship's communication system. "We've got Sam's gear and are making for the maintenance bay. We'll take hammond side of the doors."  
  
A burst of alien words came from D'argo. "He's on his way down," Aeryn translated before saying to thin air, "Pilot, where are they?" Another burst of words sent Aeryn running through the halls. "He says they'll land in a hundred microts - a little more than your minute. He's already opened the doors."  
  
"What?! Why?"  
  
"We don't want Moya hurt by them blasting through." They ran on.  
  
"Carter? Teal'c?" Jack spoke into his radio.  
  
"I'm in position with Crichton, sir," his second responded. "We've got explosives rigged so you and Aeryn should find cover."  
  
"As long as you stay out of the hangar until they go, you should be fine," Crichton said over the other system.  
  
"I too am in position, O'Neill," Teal'c reported. "We will catch any that get by you."  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
"Safe and sound, Jack."  
  
"In here." Aeryn lifted a grate in the wall and wriggled in. "Access tunnels for DRD's and hostile takeovers. We can survive for days in these. Rygel hides food all over."  
  
"Dare I ask how long ago?"  
  
"Better not." Aeryn looked over her shoulder and grinned. Jack returned it, recognizing the sudden diversion as a way to vent her nerves. She had been their prisoner after all, held for experimentation, some of which had taken place if her and Crichton's lack of clothing at their rescue was any indication.  
  
"Here," Aeryn took the rifle she had handed him during their search for weapons. "Pull this to engage. It fires one energy pulse shot each time you pull the trigger here." She quickly showed him the important qualities of the gun. "And under no circumstance close this or change it from this setting." She pointed to two adjustable settings on the top of the barrel. "If you do it will overload and explode, and we'll be dead."  
  
"Oh, nice to know," Jack double checked the settings because he definitely wasn't doing that. Going 'kaboom' was going to be left for the bad guys.  
  
Aeryn led him a little ways further and stopped. Through the nearby grill they had a fairly comprehensive view of the room below, the maintenance bay just outside the hangar.  
  
"Now we wait," said Aeryn.  
  
"I hate waiting," said Jack.  
  
Aeryn grinned again. "Me too."  
  
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* 


	16. Guns 'n' Roses

Section 16: Guns n Roses  
  
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"So does this happen often?" asked Sam.  
  
The sound of the enemy ship landing in the hangar echoed down the hall.  
  
"What can I say? People love us. Can't get enough of the Good Ship Lollipop," John answered dryly. He glanced quickly at the Major as she too watched and waited with a look of calm apprehension. God, he hated this part, the waiting. It was worse than the fighting stage, almost as bad as the frantic planning stage, but better than the everything's-gone-to-hell- in-a-hand-basket stage. Still, he hated it.  
  
"Do *you* do this often?" he asked in return.  
  
Sam nodded once. "Most of the time it's on a planet, but yeah." She paused. "I hate the waiting."  
  
John only smiled at the words that mirrored his thoughts. The two of them were hiding behind the access grill across form the maintenance bay door. They were too far from the hangar to see anything useful so Aeryn and Jack, in a conduit of the bay's ceiling, were their eyes and trigger for the detonation of several C-4 charges they had set up from Sam's packs. Sam had assured him that they would be localized explosions that would kill the bad guys but limit the damage done to Moya. Frankly, John was just impressed they had real explosives and detonators that weren't jerry- rigged.  
  
"Carter," Sam's radio sputtered to life. "On my mark."  
  
John raised Winona as Sam did the same. He could feel the microts tick by individually as they often did before all hell broke loose. The calm before battle settled over him.  
  
"Now!" Jack's voice cracked, and boom went the hangar. Instantly, John heard pulse fire from Aeryn and D'argo who were closer to the action, then he too was firing as the warlord's soldiers made it to the hallway.  
  
And John saw that they had a problem.  
  
"Frell! Frell, frell, frell! They're shielded!" Aeryn cursed. Shouting his own epithets, John watched the Qujagan body shields absorb Winona's pulse energy. His poor gun didn't have a chance. "Frell!" It was too early for the hell in a hand-basket stage.  
  
John's mind had raced over the variations of retreat, regroup, and kill before he noticed that some of the soldiers were going down - the ones that Sam was hitting with her automatic machine gun of death.  
  
"Okay," John snatched up the other military issue gun. "How does this work?"  
  
In answer, Sam handed him her weapon which he immediately took as an invitation to open fire and prepped the other gun before rejoining the battle. Already the Qujagans were using their superior numbers to flood into the hallway.  
  
"Teal'c, they're coming!" shouted Sam, one hand on her radio. "Energy weapons are useless!"  
  
"Carter, what's you status?" shouted Jack.  
  
"Our P-90's work against them, but there's too many to keep them all back."  
  
"You have all our supplies?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Alright, we're coming to you."  
  
"Aeryn," John said into his own comm. "How many did we blow up?"  
  
"Not enough. Ten, fifteen maybe. They are about twenty more and they are all shielded. We're coming to meet you, but we'll have to take the long way round."  
  
"They'll be through here by then."  
  
"Aeryn, John," D'argo broke in, "We need to regroup fast. Pilot says they're heading for Norianti, Stark, and Teal'c. They won't stop many of them."  
  
"Bullets work," John told him, firing on the last of the Qujagan in the maintenance bay. "All the live ones are headed toward Grandma's big teeth. We'll meet you on tier five. Come on," he said to Sam.  
  
Grabbing her pack, Sam rushed after him as John made for the closest exit. "Where are we going?" she asked.  
  
"To make sure there's no one left on their ship that will stab us in the back."  
  
Sam looked like she was about to protest, but in the end, didn't and simply followed him into the hangar. They met no one. The ship was large, about five times the size of D'argo's.  
  
"Looks like a rounded Teltak," Sam murmured as her eyes professionally swept over the craft. "This side's clear."  
  
"Teltak?" John asked.  
  
"Spaceship. About half this size though," Sam answered. John turned his attention back to his side of the ship. No one, for which he was grateful for once. Then, behind him a metallic ring suddenly made him start and spin around.  
  
"Sorry." Sam smiled sheepishly, shaking he right hand in the air. "The ship's shielded too."  
  
John took a hasty step back before the ship bit him. "Well, that answers that question. Alright, let's go."  
  
It didn't take them long to reach tier five where the rest of the crew, including Grandma, Stark, Jack, and Teal'c were waiting for them.  
  
"Where the hell have you been?" Jack was the first to jump on them. "We've been trying to raise you for ten minutes!" He frowned first at Sam then positively glowered at John.  
  
"We went to check out their ship for any sentries, sir," Sam replied. "It's shielded. That must be what interfered with our radios."  
  
"You should have told me first."  
  
"I think we have more important things to worry about," John cut in. "Like what's going on?" Jack leveled another glare at him, but let D'argo explain.  
  
"Pilot's got them trapped on tier eight for the moment," said the Luxan. "Our weapons are no good so after Norianti blew her stuff they got out of there. They haven't figured out the locking override yet."  
  
"Which probably won't take them long," Aeryn added.  
  
"Well our weapons work," said Jack handing his pistol to his black teammate. "Carter, Teal'c, and I can go take them out if they're trapped."  
  
"Or ask them to leave," said Sam.  
  
John recognized her desire not to outright murder the cornered soldiers, and he admired it even as he noted his own lack of sympathy. She still cared; he could see it in her wide eyes and the soft curves of her face.  
  
"Right," said Jack with a glance in her direction. "The rest of you stay here."  
  
He turned to go, but stopped when neither he nor Sam knew which way to turn.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Aeryn muttered "This better work," as she fell into step beside John and D'argo as they led the way to tier eight.  
  
"You don't all have to come," said Jack petulantly.  
  
John glanced at him sideways, sure he hadn't imagined to concern in the older man's voice. "And let you have all the fun?"  
  
Before Jack could comment though, all hell broke loose once again.  
  
"Guess they figured out the override," said Aeryn as they scattered for cover. John pulled his gun more out of habit than necessity and listened while Jack, Teal'c, and Sam opened fire.  
  
"They're making a break for it!" shouted Jack. "Pull back!"  
  
Energy fire from the fridge-faces spattered around them as John, Aeryn, and D'argo bolted around the corner with the humans covering their retreat. "How many are left?" asked D'argo.  
  
"A good handful," said Jack. "A few went down, but they're using the sides for cover too."  
  
"Do you have a secure location where we could really trap them?" asked Sam. "A cell? You said this used to be a prison."  
  
"Let's keep moving people!" Jack fired at the back hallway, ushering the rest of them forward.  
  
"A couple tiers away, maybe - " John began but Aeryn cut him off.  
  
"No," she said. "Give me one of your weapons. I'll circle around and take them from behind. I can take out at least two of them before they figure it out."  
  
"No. Too dangerous," Jack immediately objected.  
  
Aeryn just snatched Sam's gun from her. "I'm not giving you a choice," she glared at him. "Do you have more ammunition?" she turned to Sam. With a brief look at her CO, Sam gave her a fresh clip and showed her how to load it in.  
  
"Cock this for a single shot. This switches it back to automatic."  
  
And she was off. "Aeryn," John called after her. She spun around, still running.  
  
"I know," she said before turning around again.  
  
Behind them, the soldiers were still pressing their luck but Jack and Teal'c made them fight for every inch. John and D'argo led the whole battle slowly through Moya's halls toward the hangar. John had lost all sense of time as they kept moving. And then three shots rang out and the fighting stilled for a moment. One more exchange and it stopped completely.  
  
John looked back at Jack who was peering cautiously around the corner.  
  
"We're clear!" Aeryn called, appearing a minute later like a sexy Rambo. John took her hand when she joined them, more to reassure himself than anything. He knew she could handle herself, but there were no guarantees.  
  
"So much for asking nicely," Jack muttered as they retraced their path. Eleven soldiers lay as good as dead by severe bullet wounds. John looked at them dispassionately, unconsciously checking their gear for salvageable weapons and equipment. "Such a waste."  
  
John glanced up at Jack, his closed off face revealing nothing. John had to give him credit for knowing how to take out a threat. Teal'c was as unreadable as ever as he gingerly stepped over corpses. But John's heart ached for Sam who was avoiding looking at their faces. She was a soldier, yes, but with a good heart that hadn't yet been cauterized against necessity. John tried seeing what she saw in the young faces, what he would have seen a few cycles ago.  
  
"Come on," John pulled on her sleeve to get her attention. "Let's go get Chi and your friend." He cast a last glance over the carnage to where Aeryn and D'argo had found a live prisoner, before leading the way down the corridor.  
  
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* 


	17. Boom Ship

Section 17: Boom Ship  
  
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What a mess, thought Jack. The floor was slick with pale blood and gore. It was more carnage than they were used to seeing fighting Jaffa and for all he'd seen, Jack still felt a little sympathetic pain.  
  
Aeryn was kneeling on the floor next to the prisoner with D'argo standing over her shoulder. The incomprehensible talking that had been going on for the last ten minutes had finally stopped, the interrogation over. Stark appeared then, coming out of nowhere from the other end of the hallway. Jack and Teal'c watched as he took Aeryn's place by the dying man while she stepped back with her fellow warrior.  
  
Jack moved to join them. "What's going on?" he asked just loud enough for the two of them to hear. It had been a boring wait for them to finish.  
  
Both Aeryn and D'argo looked at him with eyes marked by sadness. "He's easing his passing into the next world," Aeryn replied, equally soft. She turned back to Stark who was lifting the mask that hid the right side of his face. A golden glow poured from his face to the murmuring of his words. The soldier stared at him wide-eyed at first but he slowly relaxed and then died with peace.  
  
"He has passed on," Stark said in a strong voice that held none of the insecurity Jack associated with the man. He replaced the mask and refastened the clasp around his neck. Feather light fingers ghosted down the side of the soldier's face one last time before Stark rose. With bright eyes, he turned to them with his half crouch returning. "Did he tell you about the ship?"  
  
"Ship?" asked Jack as Aeryn and D'argo exchanged a look.  
  
"Explosions," Stark whispered. "To stop capture. Big. . . terrible . . .fire that tears, melts, burns . . ." His single eye danced manically, flittering from Jack to the others as his hands acted out their death.  
  
How the hell did he know that? Jack wondered wildly as the crazy man went on again about explosions and fire. He would have laughed it off, questioned just how he knew if Aeryn and D'argo hadn't sprung immediately into action.  
  
"John, we have a problem!" D'argo barked into the open air.  
  
"What?" the other human's voice came back.  
  
"That ship is going to explode."  
  
"Why am I not surprised?" Jack heard Crichton sigh.  
  
"I'll go talk to Pilot," Aeryn said to D'argo. "If it's shielded the only way we're getting rid of it is by spacing it."  
  
"Wait a minute. Are you sure?" Jack put out a hand to stop her.  
  
"Stark is. He sees their thoughts when they die." She shook off his hand.  
  
And things just kept getting weirder and weirder. Talk about the Twilight Zone. "What's our timetable?" he asked instead as Aeryn left.  
  
D'argo looked at Stark who stared back muttering, "Fire inside . . . outside, dead, all dead . . ."  
  
"Stark, how long?" D'argo grabbed the quailing man by the shoulders, shaking him roughly to get his attention.  
  
"Long time, no time, no time . . . soon." Stark blinked slowly, turning his gaze to Jack and Teal'c. "Soon we will die," he whispered soberly.  
  
"Great," said D'argo. He shot a look at Jack and headed off after Aeryn. Jack took that as invitation to follow.  
  
"So what's the plan? We gonna take off then eject the ship?" asked Jack.  
  
"If Moya and Pilot have recovered enough to take off."  
  
"What?" Jack grabbed D'argo's arm, spinning him around to face him. "We can't take off?" The 'worse' of this situation had just gotten worse.  
  
"We *might* not be able to," the alien replied.  
  
"Then let's make sure we can," said Jack forcefully. They did not win the first battle just to die in an explosion. Not on his watch.  
  
"We'll see - "  
  
"Ahh," Jack cut him off with a raised finger. "No bad thoughts."  
  
D'argo just rolled his eyes, muttering "Humans," as he turned back down the corridor.  
  
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John joined them in Command a short while later with Daniel and Sam in tow. "So?" he asked Aeryn coming up beside her.  
  
"They're going to try. Moya's been using most of her reserve energy to heal, but it's been five days," she said softly.  
  
"After serious trauma?" John sighed. "Let's just hope we're not trying to fly on broken wings."  
  
"Pilot?" Aeryn called and his purple image appeared in the clamshell. "We're ready."  
  
"Initiating now," said Pilot with a quiet strain in his voice. Around them Moya's hum increased as her drive engines fought to overcome her own weight and launch herself into space.  
  
"Come on, Moya, come on," John chanted. She could do this, she had too. They would literally be sunk if she didn't.  
  
"Why aren't we moving?" asked Jack from the strategy table.  
  
"It may . . . take a while," said Pilot.  
  
"Well can't we do anything to make it move? You know, bail out the water?" he asked.  
  
"Back off Jack," said John. "They're trying."  
  
"I'm just saying, if we can help we should," Jack shot back defensively.  
  
"We've done all we can, it's up to Moya now. Her and Pilot."  
  
"I hate waiting," Jack muttered.  
  
So did everyone, thought John. And the wait just kept getting longer.  
  
"Pilot?"  
  
"It's . . . too much," Pilot panted. "Moya can't . . . "  
  
"Well try harder!"  
  
"Jack!" "Colonel!"  
  
"If she can't, she can't," John snapped over his shoulder. "We'll have to find another way."  
  
"I'm going to the Den," said Aeryn giving his hand a quick squeeze.  
  
"Let's go, John," D'argo sighed. Pushing off the console, John spun and headed out of Command with his friend.  
  
"Pilot, can you scan the ship?" he asked, the other humans falling into step beside him.  
  
"We can help," said Sam when he looked at her.  
  
"Can't let you have all the fun," added Jack with a sarcastic smile.  
  
John grinned back. "Cause diffusing a ship that could blow us to hell is so much fun."  
  
"Ahh," Jack waved a finger in his face. "No bad thoughts."  
  
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* 


	18. Change in Down

Section 18: Change in Down  
  
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"So now what?" Daniel asked at large. The six of them stood stupidly in front of the ship just staring at it as if they were staring at a piece of art in a museum. Or, Daniel amended, as if by looking at it, they could glare the force field down. If looks could kill sort of thing. Unfortunately it wasn't working.  
  
They had tried everything they could think of so far. Jack had gotten himself a nasty shock testing the effectiveness of the shield. The DRD D'argo had sent in was sitting fried on the other side of the barrier. Sam had gone on for a minute after that about repulsive electromagnetic fields until Jack made her explain in English that nothing electronic or biologic was getting through without dying a horrible death. John had suggested they test her theory on Rygel.  
  
"Well," the question stirred Sam from the stillness that had come over the group. She moved closer to shield, studying the ship from all angles. "We know that insulators can pass through the shielding." She demonstrated with the cloth she still held in her hand from the previous test. "We might be able to make a shield of our own that will protect us from the electricity."  
  
"We don't have any lead on board," said John.  
  
"Surly you must have something for your own systems," Daniel countered. "Insulation of some sort . . ."  
  
"Anything," Sam turned to them again. "Casing, bundle wire insulation, large surge protectors, anything." Her eyes pleaded with John for an idea.  
  
But the black clad man simply shook his head. "Almost all that stuff is tied up either in Moya's nervous system or systems that keep her running. We can't use it."  
  
"All we need is a little, enough to wrap around a person to get in. We can take it from different places or places where she has excess insulation so there's no danger," said Sam.  
  
"When he said, we can't use it, he meant we can't use it," D'argo snapped. "The insulation we could use would be impossible to make into a cloak or shield of any kind and the stuff that might work we can't take away from Moya."  
  
"Don't you think the ship not exploding is a little more important than a few exposed circuits?" Jack bit out at his sarcastic best.  
  
"Those exposed circuits are her nervous system!" John shouted back. "It'd be like ripping off your skin with a dull knife! If we had an anesthetic, maybe. But we don't." The glare he leveled at Jack rivaled the colonel's best. "Moya would probably pass out, and with their weakened connection, Pilot would probably die."  
  
"And if Pilot dies, we all die, including Moya," D'argo finished in a deadly quiet voice.  
  
Suddenly Daniel felt the mortality of the ship and the gentle creature that guided her as he hadn't since they came aboard. It was one thing to learn that the vessel they were in was alive, another to hear the love and fierce protection of her friends at any mention of harm to her. "I guess we'll have to find another way then," Daniel offered in truce. One glance at the way Jack's eyes shifted over the surrounding walls told him his friend was also feeling it. As the Colonel met his own gaze, Daniel knew that Moya had suddenly landed in the category of 'innocent we'll die fighting to protect.'  
  
"What other ways are there to expel the ship?" asked Teal'c. "Its shield and size prevents us from moving it physically, therefore we must endeavor to find a way to take down the shield and get inside."  
  
And that about summed it up. Okay, time to start thinking. Work your way up. "What about a control device on one of the dead guys," Daniel suggested the simplest thing he could come up with.  
  
"And that would look like what?" John asked turning toward the remains from the C4 and subsequent shoot out lay scattered among the debris.  
  
"I don't know, anything," Daniel followed. "Something on their wrist like a small remote control, probably the same color as the ship.  
  
"O'Neill." Teal's voice, though not directed at them nevertheless stopped them in their tracks. The Jaffa looked intense, staring blankly at the ship the way one does when listening with other senses.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I believe the countdown has begun."  
  
They all turned to stare at the ship that held their collective fate in its hand. Jack summed it up nicely, "Crap!" Yeah, Daniel agreed. "Alright," Jack snapped into motion, moving swiftly to join Daniel and John. "Let's find something to get that shield down so we can throw that thing out!" The others followed his lead and soon all of them were searching bodies. It was unpleasant but Daniel found that if he avoided looking at the their faces, he could go through pockets without feeling too bad about it. He was an archeologist after all - going through a dead man's things was his job.  
  
Daniel crashed into someone before he could follow up on that thought. Startled, he looked up at John who was absently steadying him even as he stared at the ship behind him. "I got an idea," was all he said.  
  
"What?" "Crichton?" Jack and D'argo's surprise overlapped each others.  
  
"You said 'throw it out,'" John shot at Jack who looked as bewildered as everyone else felt. "We can do that. Pilot?" he called out without any further explanation.  
  
Pilot answered briefly in acknowledgement.  
  
"Can you get Moya to turn on her side so that the hangar door is toward the planet?"  
  
There was a pause and in that pause Daniel's eyes met Sam's in mutual enlightenment. By turning Moya, John was going to get gravity to pull the ship out.  
  
When Pilot answered this time, a smile broke out on John's face.  
  
"John," Aeryn's voice continued in English. "We'll have to flood the whole hangar and turn off Moya's artificial gravity so you better get my prowler out of there now!"  
  
John grinned at her request and turned to Jack. "You guys don't happen to be Air Force do you?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Jack just smiled. "What do you want me to fly?"  
  
The next few minutes were spent in a flurry of activity. John had Jack fly his small Earth-made ship while he took Aeryn's black fighter out of the hangar. The three of them, completed by D'argo in his own craft, were going to circle overhead while Pilot flooded the hangar to get the ship on its side. Since Moya's gravity would be dropped once they were in position, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c, shortly joined by Aeryn were stowing as much of the mess of tools and equipment in the maintenance bay as possible. When asked why this room, Aeryn told him that repair supplies were hard to come by and vital for survival. There was nothing else of value that could be damaged by a sudden change in down.  
  
"Looks like were getting close," said Sam when they had finally done as much as they could. She nodded toward the ship in the hangar that had started to glow purple. At the far end of the hangar, Daniel could see the water rushing in diagonally. It was a disconcerting sight even if he could feel the effects of planet's gravity starting to pull him in that direction.  
  
"Let's get out of here," said Aeryn. With stilted steps that had her body at an impossible angle with the floor, she crossed to close the inner hangar door before retreating with the rest of them into the hallway, the bay door closing and sealing behind them.  
  
"We should lean against the door so we don't fall and kill ourselves when it's time," said Sam putting words to action, and since it was a very sensible idea, they all followed suit. Aeryn briefly advised the others on the ship to do the same before falling silent with the rest of them. Daniel could hear the moving water through the door.  
  
"This is a crazy idea," he commented.  
  
Teal'c raised an eyebrow, and Sam and Aeryn said in perfect unison, "Aren't they all?" Teal'c's other eyebrow rose as he turned his attention to the two women who just looked at each other before smiling self-consciously.  
  
"Aeryn, Moya's almost there," said John over the communications system.  
  
"Alright, Pilot?" the raven haired woman respond. "We're ready whenever you are."  
  
Pilot replied, and even though he couldn't understand it, Daniel knew it was the signal. A moment later he felt the ship let them go, his weight relaxing completely against the door with the clang of metal on metal as objects on the other side of the door fell too. And then he heard the muted sounds of what only could be the ship knocking against the walls as it fell into the ocean.  
  
"Pilot?" Aeryn's voice was tense.  
  
He answered at length and Aeryn's expression never wavered to give any indication of what he was telling her. That is, until Pilot's own voice suddenly changed.  
  
"Brace for impact!" Aeryn shouted. A second later a shock waved hit them, jolting them into the air only to land painfully back on the door.  
  
"Pilot! Aeryn! Are you alright?" D'argo demanded as Jack's own, "Carter what happened? You okay?" filtered through the radio.  
  
"Fine, sir," Sam replied, sitting up painfully. "The ship must have exploded, but it was in the ocean. The water was a pretty good buffer."  
  
"D'argo," Aeryn addressed her own captain. "Pilot's cycling the water out of the airlocks now but it will be a while before Moya's righted. Once we're less vertical, he'll reengage the gravity."  
  
"Understood. We'll keep an eye out for any more attacks."  
  
Aeryn looked at her three companions after D'argo signed off. They were stuck on a sideways ship then with nothing to do but wait. "So you hungry?" she asked.  
  
With a quick glance at his teammates at this non sequitor, Daniel shrugged. "Yeah."  
  
"Good, I'm starved." And with that Aeryn got up and led them toward the center chamber. Walking on the walls.  
  
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I must say, I am proud of this part! I think I'm going to write Daniel more often. Sorry it took so long to update, but I only got this satisfying answer to their dilemma last night and I think it was worth the wait.  
  
Thanks for sticking with the story and writing encouraging reviews. I can tell you now that this story, due to an evil plot bunny Alynna let loose, is less than half done. So much for a short summer fic. So much for homework.  
  
* 


	19. In Flight Conversation

Section 19: In Flight Conversation  
  
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From the bird's-eye view of the ocean, Moya looked like a funky island without any beaches. She was a little gold mountain struggling alone in the great expanse of water. It was a humbling picture, and one that John had not thought about in a very long time. It reminded him of when he was a kid, looking up at the stars and feeling both the weight and awe of the vastness of the universe, wondering where he, John Robert Crichton, fit into the grand scheme of things.  
  
Thinking about it now as the familiar thrill of flight washed through him, John suddenly felt very glad and very thankful to be alive. The bigger mystery of life had gotten lost somewhere in the fight for survival, but now, another crisis averted, John was going to marry Aeryn and they were going to have a baby. That was a miracle if there ever was one.  
  
And as an added bonus, he got to fly the prowler. With a grin of sudden delight, John put his foot to the floor and whipped her into a barrel roll as he hadn't done in years. Like riding a bike, and it never got old.  
  
"Whoa there, hot shot!" Jack called over the comm with a smile in his voice. "Feeling the air a bit?"  
  
"Like life under my wings!" John replied. "Ain't nothing better than a clear horizon for a little flying. How are you doing over there?"  
  
"Good." There was a pause, then, "Does this thing corkscrew?"  
  
John couldn't help but smile. "Never done it in atmosphere."  
  
"Designed for space?"  
  
"Designed to dive head first into the atmosphere," John replied. To the hammond side, he saw his module flying in lazy circles. Battered, beat up, and decked out in Moya's gold, she was a far sight different from the ship he had once hoped to wow the world with. "I was trying to prove that you could use the Earth's gravity to reach an accelerated - "  
  
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack interrupted him with a sigh. "TMI. Skip the details."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Simple words for simple minds," Jack clarified. "None of this scientist mumbo-jumbo. You sound just like Carter."  
  
John smiled and re-explained. "I was trying go fast enough to get out of our solar system using the Earth's gravity as a power source."  
  
"See that wasn't so hard," Jack sounded satisfied. "So how did you end up out here?"  
  
"What is this? Twenty questions?"  
  
"It's a breadbox, and I don't see any license plates out here for the alphabet game."  
  
John shook his head to himself. He had to give the man credit for style - that and the random Earth reference that felt so good to hear. "During the experiment I accidentally opened a wormhole. Got dumped in the Uncharted Territories. Moya picked me up during their prison break. You?"  
  
"The stargate was found in Egypt in the 1920's. Took till Carter and Daniel were born and geniuses for the Air Force to get it to work. Me and Daniel were on the first mission through. Met the bad guys of the universe, our universe anyway, pissed them off, and been fighting ever since."  
  
"Sounds like fun," John commented dryly though it sounded anything but.  
  
"Oh, you know, it has its perks," said Jack lightly. "We get to save the world a lot. Like Buffy really, except with aliens. And that sounds just as freaky when I say it like that." John laughed at that and agreed. "So," Jack went on, "my question. What are your intentions toward Aeryn?"  
  
For the second time, John could only splutter, "What?"  
  
"Your intentions," Jack enunciated carefully, having fun with it. "I heard you were getting married and since I doubt her father has had a chance to grill you . . ."  
  
"You thought you'd do it," John finished. "We're having a baby, if that answers your question."  
  
"A baby?" Jack repeated, and John wasn't sure if he was shocked or not. "That's great!" he finally said. "Congratulations. It's not a shotgun wedding, is it?" he asked playfully.  
  
"Nah, just a long time coming," John replied, glad of the response. Somehow, over the course of the conversation, Jack had not only gotten firmly into the friend category, but had also taken up residence.  
  
"How long have you been together?"  
  
"Define together."  
  
"That bad?"  
  
"Till about, I don't know, a month ago. What about you? You married?"  
  
"Divorced," Jack answered shortly.  
  
"I'm sorry," said John, feeling bad now that he had asked.  
  
"You didn't know," Jack seemed to shrug. "Anyway it was a long time ago. So D'argo said you fish?"  
  
No more questions about family, John gathered as he answered in the affirmative. He wondered what had happened as they argued over the merits of Minnesota and Maine and any number of other fishing spots either had been to. But then again, no family was without its tragedies, on Earth or in this end of the galaxy. So they talked about fishing spots and bass and trout and the best lures to use and how unappreciative their friends were about the best sport in the world.  
  
"He just glowered at me - I mean really glowered - the next time I asked him if he wanted to go," Jack was telling him about Teal'c's reaction to relaxing in a boat. "I think it took him the whole day just to forgive me for asking."  
  
John laughed. "That's about what happened to me when I tried to take D with me on Earth. The only reason he came with me the second time was so we could talk. He wouldn't touch the pole though. Told me he gladly slave away on a farm but wouldn't mindlessly wait for fish to bite."  
  
"D'argo farm?" asked Jack, disbelievingly.  
  
"Yeah. You wouldn't think it to look at him," John thought fondly of his friend and the gentle side of him that was so different from the warrior.  
  
"So Moya was a prison ship?" Jack delicately put forth the question.  
  
"Sing Sing in space," John replied. "I hope that doesn't make you think any less of us," he added. Their own reception on Earth had become even colder when the suits had found out about that little fact.  
  
"I'll admit I was concerned for a while. Rygel said he used to be king of his planet or something."  
  
"He gave you the speech, didn't he?" John said with a sympathetic wince.  
  
"Six hundred billion people?"  
  
"That'd be the one."  
  
"You know he was the only one who told us what he was in for."  
  
"So now you want to know about the rest of us?" John asked with a half smile. "Well D'argo is Moya's only other original prisoner. He was locked up for a murder he didn't commit."  
  
"If he was innocent why did he completely avoid the question?"  
  
John was silent for a moment, wondering if he should say. "Because it was his wife's murder."  
  
"That's rough," said Jack quietly.  
  
"Yeah." But not just rough, horrible. John remembered the feeling of utter loss when Aeryn had fallen to death for a time. He had been lucky and gotten her back, but D'argo had no such miracle awaiting him. Lo'la was gone forever. "My question, right?" John needed to turn the depressing thoughts away.  
  
"Shoot," said Jack, the whimsical note back in his voice.  
  
"Who won the Super Bowl in your universe?"  
  
"Super Bowl?" Jack sounded offended. "Forget football. Now hockey, that's a sport."  
  
Balance achieved once more, John quickly fell into the friendly argument until Pilot called them home.  
  
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* 


	20. Galley Philosophy

Section 20: Galley Philosophy  
  
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The kitchen was a wreck when Daniel, Sam, and Aeryn found it. It took them until the ship was almost right to get everything cleaned up, so they went ahead and fixed dinner for everyone. Daniel was surprised that there was so little food left from the first aborted attempt at a meal, but Aeryn explained that Rygel had probably eaten some if it in the stress of the attack.  
  
The first thing Aeryn asked them was if they could cook. Sam, with an unapologetic smile had politely begged off leaving Daniel in charge of feeding ten people.  
  
"You know, in almost every culture, cooking is a part of the woman's domain," Daniel told them as he picked out steaks from the fridge. "Even among modern egalitarian societies, originally cooking was the woman's job."  
  
"Well in our modern egalitarian society, I order out," Sam replied.  
  
"Yeah, we noticed," Daniel smiled at her. Both he and Jack had a more extensive culinary repertoire than Sam did, and while spaghetti was good, it was still spaghetti. Sidestepping Sam's swat at his arm before it could do any damage, Daniel turned to Aeryn. "So I guess you guys rotate through kitchen duty?"  
  
Aeryn shrugged where her back was visible from the pantry. "When we eat together." She turned with a bag of mixed vegetables. "Lately, we've mostly been feeding just ourselves."  
  
"Too much trouble?" said Sam.  
  
Aeryn half smiled. "No one wanted to eat with Scorpius or Sikozu. Or Rygel. Or Norianti sometimes. And some of us were avoiding each other."  
  
"Who were you avoiding?" asked Sam curiously.  
  
Aeryn looked at her a moment before saying, "I wasn't. He was."  
  
"John?" Sam guessed with sympathy.  
  
Aeryn nodded and added, "It was more complicated than just our problems. Though they were pretty substantial."  
  
"But you're in the same place with the same people all the time and you need a break from it," Sam finished, nodding. "I know what you mean."  
  
"Hey," said Daniel, pretending to be hurt. "Are you saying we're bad company?"  
  
"I'm saying you're my only company," Sam shot back playfully. "You know I have almost no friends outside of work?"  
  
Daniel thought about it for a moment before nodding and acknowledging that all his friends were work related too, and all his close ones he practically lived with on a daily basis.  
  
"How long have you been working together?" asked Aeryn.  
  
"Six years?" Sam hazarded a guess. "Then there was the year you were gone." Daniel nodded. A lot had happened since he had opened the stargate. Sha'uri, Apophis, murder, mayhem, and new planets. They'd saved the planet countless times, and lost a lot of good people to the fight against the Goa'uld.  
  
"Why did you leave?" Aeryn asked, drawing him back to the present.  
  
"I was, uh, ascended to a higher state of existence," said Daniel. He looked over his shoulder for her reaction and was rewarded with a look of surprise.  
  
"You? You're human." She said it like it was an impossibility.  
  
Daniel shrugged with a smile and flipped over the steaks. "At the time it was something I needed to do."  
  
"Where did you go?"  
  
"Oh I was still around. I don't remember much of that time. I was . . . energy with a conscious I guess you could say."  
  
Aeryn nodded. "You should talk to Stark. He's energy."  
  
"Stark?" asked Sam as surprised as Daniel was by this pronouncement. Daniel had barely seen the masked man; he was jittery around them, wary of getting too close.  
  
"His physical form is real, and he's attached to it, but he can exist without it," Aeryn explained. "His mask covers the opening where his energy comes out."  
  
"Why does he keep it covered?" asked Sam.  
  
"To keep the rest of us safe from it. He can drive someone mad or calm the down."  
  
"I guess we'd fit right in here," Daniel observed. Both Aeryn and Sam looked over at him. "Driving people mad I mean. Well, that and me and Stark being energy. And you two being soldiers. And you and John knowing physics." Daniel frowned and stopped, a half dozen more similarities jumping into his head. It was uncanny. At the table the two women just smiled knowingly at each other in that way of women that was completely universal. They were talking about him without talking, and they barely knew each other. "Anyway," he tried diverting attention away from himself. "Have you decided what you're going to do with the wedding?"  
  
"Wedding?" Sam leapt on the change in subject. "I thought you were already married."  
  
"No, not yet," Aeryn smiled.  
  
"But," Sam paused and glanced from Aeryn to Daniel and back again.  
  
"But what?" asked Aeryn with a confused smile.  
  
"But, the way you act together. I just assumed . . ." Sam answered with a shrug. But Daniel caught the split second hesitation when his teammate changed what she was going to say. Whatever it was, he would have to ask about it later. "So when's the big day?"  
  
"Soon," said Aeryn. "Probably after we figure out how to get you home to your reality and when Chiana is well enough."  
  
"Yeah, I bet she'll really want to be there."  
  
"So what kind of customs do your people have?" asked Daniel. Earlier he and Jack had been kept busy answering questions about Earth traditions. The colonel had for once been the talker, expounding on what he knew and ignoring the questions Daniel had about Aeryn's own people.  
  
"My species?" Aeryn asked.  
  
Daniel nodded yes, "Or your specific culture. Are there many of them?"  
  
"Daniel, let her answer the first question," Sam admonished him gently.  
  
"I don't know," said Aeryn. "I was born a Peacekeeper and they don't have weddings or marriages, or even prolonged relationships. I know the colonies have marriages and families, but I don't know anything about them."  
  
"And the Peacekeepers is your . . . military society?" asked Daniel and Aeryn nodded. Not really surprised, he immediately thought of the Spartans in Ancient Greece and the story where a boy stoically let a baby fox he had found eat out his insides so that the teachers wouldn't discover that he had broken the rules. "That must have been rough growing up in that kind of environment."  
  
"I didn't know anything else," Aeryn shrugged. "It wasn't until I'd left that I knew what had been stolen from me. Like wedding plans." She forced a smile. Taking the hint, Daniel decided not to press. Curious as he was, nothing hinged on painful memories she wasn't willing to discuss. "I think we'll simply make our promises in the Den with the crew. We certainly can't go buy those fancy white dresses you were talking about."  
  
"Hey! I smell food!" Around the corner strode Jack with the rest of Moya's denizens. D'argo and Stark were helping Chiana along, who looked a little better than the last time Daniel had seen her. Rygel followed behind them, and Teal'c, he noticed, kept a wary eye on Norianti from the opposite side of the corridor.  
  
"What's this I hear about dresses? You want one?" asked John as he and Rygel swooped in to check on the food. Daniel frowned at both of them, slightly offended that they didn't trust his cooking abilities, and waved them over to the table.  
  
"No, I don't like dresses," Aeryn replied as John sat down beside her.  
  
"You look damn sexy in them," he shot back. She just gave him a look that could melt iron. "I know, I know," John waved a hand, "can't kick, can't punch, and can't hide a knife worth grabbing. What if we made special pockets?"  
  
"No."  
  
"We could pretend we were Betazoid and go naked."  
  
"No."  
  
"I could just bang you over the head." Again, Aeryn simply glared, though Daniel was sure he saw the glimmer of a grin. "I know," John said with an exaggerated sigh. "You can kick my ass from here into next week before I even know what hit me."  
  
"You're lucky I'm marrying you at all."  
  
The way he looked at her then left no doubt that he was head over heels for her. "I know."  
  
"Oh please!" Rygel broke the moment impatiently. "Let's eat before I lose my appetite to all this disgusting mush."  
  
"Like you would ever lose your appetite," said D'argo sarcastically.  
  
"I'll have you know - "  
  
"Yeah, yeah," "Shut up," at least three people said before the diminutive alien could get going. From his vantagepoint as cook at the stove, Daniel took a moment to just watch everyone as conversation started up. Rygel was still arguing with John about his appetite while the human split his attention between him and Aeryn and Chiana who had asked about the wedding and the baby. Baby? Daniel pulled up short in surprise before chuckling to himself.  
  
On the other side of the table, Jack was trying to explain hockey to D'argo while Sam made unhelpful comments. Beside them, Teal'c, Stark, and Norianti were having a conversation about death that wasn't helped by Noranti's translations or the non-sequitors that seemed to pop out of nowhere.  
  
It was amazing how well they got along considering the very short time they had known each other. Well, maybe not so amazing in light of one rescue, two battles, and nearly exploding - all in less than two days. But Daniel felt it was more than that. He thought back over the similarities he had spouted off earlier to Sam and Aeryn. They were both diverse groups with colorful people who were often at odds with each other, but at the same time as close as family. It was a different dynamic than that of an all military team, and perhaps that was what they recognized in each other.  
  
This motley crew was different than what they normally ran into offworld, that was for certain. And when John spoke up to Pilot, Daniel smiled at the reminder that the ship and her navigator were included in this tightly knit group. He knew then that this was one of the missions that would stay with him and keep him going through the stargate when the wonder wore away to banality. As he dished up the steaks and joined the rest at the table, Daniel thought of the opener from the Star Trek he had watched with Teal'c: "to seek out new life and new civilizations." Well, Moya and her people certainly didn't make up a civilization, far from it, but life . . .more than that. They were truly alive.  
  
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* 


	21. New Plan

Section 21: New Plan  
  
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Aeryn woke up late two days later to a cold spot on the bed beside her. John hadn't gotten back last night. Aeryn sighed, not really bothered by his absence but missing him all the same. He and Sam had been closeted two tiers away trying to figure out a way to get the humans back to their reality. In other words, they had something to do while the rest of them recovered from the excitement of the past two weekens.  
  
Aeryn had spent a lot of the time on her own putting things back in order in the maintenance bay. With the quiet had come a time to think about everything and nothing. About being tired of getting captured by random people, about keeping her baby safe on Moya, about Chiana and John and D'argo and Rygel, how getting married would or wouldn't change things, and perhaps scariest, about becoming a mother.  
  
Growing up in the peacekeeper ranks left Aeryn with no idea about what to do with a child. On the other hand, she knew that her baby would be loved, not just by her, but by everyone on Moya. She had faith that together they would be fine.  
  
Chiana was especially excited about the baby. Whenever Aeryn visited her, she kept asking about how long pregnancy would be, and what it felt like. It overwhelmed Aeryn a little bit because it was too early to really know a lot of the answers. D'argo knew more about the whole process than she did. He had suggested asking the humans, but Sam was busy with John, and Aeryn didn't feel comfortable talking to the men about pregnancy.  
  
Jack had helped her clean up the day before in the maintenance bay. They hadn't talked much, just worked in a companionable silence that was occasionally broken by questions about where things went or what they did. Aeryn found him easy to talk to, and in many ways like John, ever ready with a reference to something familiar from Earth.  
  
She hadn't seen much of the other two. Daniel had gone in search of people to question about anything and everything. Teal'c on the other hand had spent his time avoiding being alone with Norianti - a situation that seemed to amuse all of the humans and elicit sympathy from the crew. Aeryn sensed the tight control Teal'c held over himself that only relaxed when he was with his teammates. Now the old woman's constant advances bombarded him, and while he was handling them well, Norianti was a force that was fraying even his most stoic reserve. As a result, Teal'c had taken to visiting either Pilot and Moya, where she wouldn't bother him, or D'argo who had no qualms about getting rid of her one way or another.  
  
Now it was ship's morning on the third day after the attack and Aeryn had run out of immediate tasks to do. As of yesterday, the maintenance bay was in order. Other chores that helped Moya function were moot until the ship healed or returned to space. So with few options, Aeryn rose, dressed, and went in search of her missing mate.  
  
She found him where she had left him the night before, only this time he was sprawled on the floor amongst panels of paper, sound asleep. Nearby slept Sam next to the remains of last night's dinner, her head cushioned on her arms. Carefully picking her way through the mess, Aeryn couldn't help but smile at the peaceful tableau.  
  
"John," said Aeryn softly. Gently she shook his shoulder to wake him. "John."  
  
"Mmmrn," he groaned, turning away from her in an effort to pillow deeper into the floor. Only when his fogged brain realized it really wasn't worth the discomfort did he crack his eyelids open. "Morning?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Uh- huh," Aeryn nodded. "Come on," she squatted down to help him. "You need to sleep in a bed."  
  
"Wait, wait," he said as they got him to his feet. Letting go of Aeryn, John bent to look for something on one of the papers. The crashing and crinkling woke Sam with a start.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Morning watch," Aeryn answered. Sam groaned, then grimaced as she looked down at the clothes she had slept in.  
  
"Morning?" she asked again just to be sure. Aeryn smiled at her and nodded.  
  
"Hah! Found it!" John cried behind her. He clutched at one of a million pieces of paper scattered about the room. Aeryn turned to him for an explanation. "We think we can get them back to their reality."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. I think," John frowned at the paper. "It's pretty simple actually within the framework of our combined wormhole theory - "  
  
"John," she interrupted before he could get lost in his thoughts again. "Breakfast first."  
  
John looked up and nodded. "Yeah. And maybe a nap."  
  
"I've got to report to the Colonel and get cleaned up," said Sam.  
  
"You look like you could use some sleep too," said John.  
  
Sam offered them a half smile as they parted company at the door. "Then I'm sure the Colonel will order me to bed too."  
  
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"So let me see if I've got this straight," Daniel said, his brow creasing in concentration. "We're going to activate the stargate to get back into the wormhole system that you think connects all realities." Sam nodded. "We'll hold hands so that John can guide us through and essentially match us to the stargate system in our reality. And we'll come out where?"  
  
"Any planet in our reality will suffice," Sam explained. "I'll be able to determine if we're in our reality or one that is really close. But we think that since we came through from a stargate in our reality to this one, we'll go back to our reality."  
  
"How's that? Or do I not want to know?"  
  
"Given the differences in how wormholes function out here, we think that the stargates keep realities separate. Somewhere along the path to P5X-979 there was a breach into this reality. John should be able to find that breach and return us through it into our wormhole system."  
  
"Ah, of course," said Jack blithely.  
  
"So how does John get back?" asked Aeryn, ignoring the Colonel.  
  
"They call that planet they were trying to get to before and I go back through the breach to here," said John. It wasn't the greatest plan, he knew, but theoretically it should work.  
  
"I don't like this plan," said D'argo.  
  
"Neither do I," Aeryn seconded. "I'm going with you."  
  
"No, you're not," John immediately shot back. "It's too risky."  
  
"Which is exactly why you shouldn't go alone."  
  
"What about the baby?" He didn't want to contemplate the million things that could go wrong.  
  
"What about the baby? I want my child to have a father."  
  
"Aeryn, John's right. You can't risk your child."  
  
"But - "  
  
"I'll go with him."  
  
"D'argo, I don't need to cart an extra person around!"  
  
"After your last disaster, I'm not letting you go alone!"  
  
"Hey!" Jack tried to interrupt the growing argument, but the three tallest members of Moya's crew ignored him.  
  
"Going through the wormhole is bad enough -"  
  
"And you could be in hostile territory when you come out!"  
  
"Hey! Shut up!" shouted Jack at the top of his lungs. Immediately all eyes were upon him. "Can't you people make a decision without arguing?" The human commander looked back and forth between them in disbelief.  
  
"Isn't D'argo supposed to be the captain?" asked Daniel.  
  
"For decisions pertaining to Moya and our movements as a crew. Which this is not," said John.  
  
"I beg to differ John. I am not losing you!" snapped Aeryn, her eyes flashing angrily.  
  
"And I'm not losing you!"  
  
"Hey! Hey!" Jack shouted again. More hostile glares shot his way. "Aeryn and D'argo, you stay here. John will take us through and come back. He knows what he's doing. He'll be fine."  
  
"Knows what he's doing?"  
  
"Oh, no. I'm still going with him."  
  
Jack gave up as the argument once again picked up around them. His fellow teammates gave him sympathetic smiles for his vain attempts at getting things into motion. Norianti and Stark left soon after. Apparently, this wasn't going to end anytime soon. Rygel joined the four of them at one end of the table. "No you understand how I feel," he said. "No one ever listens to me either."  
  
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Thanks the binksbabe for catching important continuity details and making sure I fixed them.  
  
* 


	22. Rabbit Holes

Section 22: Rabbit Holes  
  
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The tension on Lo'la steadily increased the closer they got to the planet. Jack sat on the floor in the back with his team and Aeryn while D'argo and John piloted, monitoring as many as the Qujagan frequencies as possible for any sign of the warlord's soldiers. So far, Lo'la's invisibility had kept them under the radar. The earlier argument among the aliens had dissolved into an agreement to go to the planet and decide there. If they were detected and attacked, they would need all the help they could get.  
  
Out the window the gray blue planet drew closer and closer until it filled up the view. "The stargate is in the main city?" asked D'argo when they entered a low orbit.  
  
"In a huge junkyard in the bad part of town," Jack told him. He looked at the dazzling planet with trepidation. So far everything was fine. He just hoped it stayed that way.  
  
They orbited the planet once to get in position for atmospheric entry, then descended. "So far so good," John muttered.  
  
"There," said D'argo pointing to a buildingless patch in the city that grew larger as they descended towards it. Everyone crowded to the front looking for the black ring on the ground.  
  
"Any sign of the Qujagans?" asked Aeryn.  
  
"Nope, we're still in the clear."  
  
"You guys see anything?"  
  
"Wait. There," Daniel pointed. And there it was, lying on the ground just where they had left it.  
  
"Alright campers, let's get down there."  
  
Ten minutes later, the seven of them stood around the stargate, four with relief at returning to what was familiar, the others with a mixture of curiosity and loathing. "Neat," was the only comment John tonelessly offered for the three of them. Irked a little by their lack of reaction, Jack prodded everyone into action.  
  
"Carter, let's hook her up."  
  
With the help of John and Aeryn, Moya's resident mechanics, Carter connected the stargate to Lo'la's engines so they could power the gate. Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and D'argo helped out with the heavy lifting, but otherwise stayed out of their way. The colonel made the mistake of getting too close to where they were wrapping stripped cable wire around the leads to the stargate and ended up getting zapped by something or other. Carter immediately jumped up to make sure the precious cable was still intact, only belatedly asking him if he was okay.  
  
"Well, I think that's it," Carter announced a few minutes later. "Let's try it out."  
  
D'argo fired up the engines. The stargate began to hum and vibrate against the ground. Jack took the grin on Carter's face as a good sign. "Teal'c, Daniel, dial us home."  
  
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It wasn't until the fifth triangle lit up on the stargate that John noticed the buzzing. Except it wasn't a buzzing so much as the sound of flight. Something big, like . . .oh frell. "I think we have a problem."  
  
"What?" five people asked in unison. John ignored the eyes on him and looked up at the sky. The others followed his gaze to the cloudless sky above them, as they too listened.  
  
"Aw, crap," Jack summed up. It was definitely a ship or plane that was coming closer to them.  
  
"Can they detect that Lo'la's engines running, even if we're not in flight?" asked Aeryn.  
  
"I have no idea," D'argo replied.  
  
"Well let's not wait around guessing," Jack snapped everyone's attention back to the ground. "Come on, we've got two chevrons left and we're out of here." Quickly, the three male members of SG-1 put their backs into spinning the inner wheel of the gate.  
  
"As soon as it's locked, stand back," Sam ordered the rest of them. A moment later John saw why as a huge jet of swirling wormhole shot out of the stargate into the air before settling into a shimmering blue pool like water. John was impressed in spite of himself. A stable wormhole on a planet, now that was pretty cool.  
  
Above them the sound of engines intensified, and three rounded fighters came into view. They and their shattering weapons would be in range in moments.  
  
"Let's go, people!" Jack shouted from the edge of the wormhole, waving a hand for them to hurry up.  
  
"Guess we're all jumping down the rabbit hole," John commented as the rest of them gathered around grabbing hands to form a seven person chain. John was in the middle between Daniel and Sam. He took a brief microt to slow down his breathing and his thoughts before taking the final step.  
  
"Now!"  
  
Jumping through the stargate was nothing like John's previous wormhole travelling. For starters, he felt tingly and cold from the atomization of his body that Sam had described to him. John chose not to think about it too much. Instead he focused on what it sounded like. This wormhole was a lot smaller than he was used to and places echoed a little bit differently. As they sped along he stretched out his senses, searching for the right hum that resonated in time with the atomized people beside him.  
  
Not quite sure how he did it, John pulled them along the wormhole. He could feel them getting closer and closer and then suddenly they were there. Without hesitating, he dragged them through. The edges of this exit were not quite like the others, but it sounded like Daniel sounded and smelt like Sam smelt.  
  
Once free of the odd exit John felt a jolt as everything shifted, realigning his perception in this new wormhole. His 'time sense' suddenly stopped barraging his brain. But even without the complication of when to come out, John still felt too many exits. With no other choice, he simply guessed and hoped for the best.  
  
Dazed and disoriented, John felt a rush as his body was put back together and spat onto the ground. Sandy dirt met his face and he resisted the urge to spew his guts up. All around he could hear shuffling feet and the clang of metal, but John was too focused on getting to his knees to care.  
  
"Aw, crap!" Jack swore for the second time that day.  
  
Shaking off the last of his nausea, John looked up. What he saw wasn't encouraging. SG-1 were all on their feet and unaffected by whatever had hit him coming out of the wormhole. And right in front of them were twenty big guys dressed in metal plate armor with black tattoos stamped across their foreheads. None of them were smiling. In fact, each one was pointing a weapon like Teal'c's at the group of travelers.  
  
"Bad guys?" he asked.  
  
"Bad guys," Jack confirmed as he lifted his hands in surrender.  
  
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There! On the other side of the wormhole!  
  
* 


	23. Prisoners Again

Section 23: Prisoners Again  
  
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On the inside, Jack was seething. Of all the dumb, rotten luck, Crichton had to miss the SGC and pick a planet that was guarded by twenty Jaffa. This was exactly what they didn't need right now. "So guys, what's going on?" Jack poured on the sarcasm to the metal head closest to him. "Having fun subjugating the lesser peoples?" He got his feet knocked out from under him for his trouble. Following his lead, the other Jaffa cut the rest of his team down to their knees as well.  
  
"Silence, Taur'i scum!" Jack's Jaffa barked at him.  
  
"Just asking how you were doing," Jack replied defensively, quickly looking away before his mouth got him knocked unconscious.  
  
"Sir," Carter reprimanded him quietly, obviously thinking the same thing.  
  
A snarl from the left and the subsequent whine of five staff weapons being activated stopped Jack from biting out another snarky reply.  
  
"D'argo don't! That's a loaded gun in your face!" said John. The enraged Luxan snarled again but refrained from anything else. But he sure did look pissed.  
  
"Silence!" the Jaffa yelled again, and this time he got it. He glared at them coldly. "My mistress will be most pleased to see what we have caught today."  
  
"But we're harmless. Really," Jack protested even as other Jaffa began stripping them of their weapons.  
  
"And who might your mistress be?" asked Daniel. The symbol of their lady that was emblazoned onto the foreheads of the Jaffa was of two arrows crossed over a circle. Jack had never seen it before in their travels. Probably some small fish - or rather snake - trying to make a play.  
  
"Silence, scum!" the Jaffa repeated. "Bring them!" he ordered the others who none too gently carried them out by yanking Jack, his team, and the other three, to their feet. From there it was a forced march away from the gate and into the ubiquitous trees.  
  
"Let me guess, we're headed for the dungeon," Aeryn muttered from her place in line behind Jack. The Colonel just nodded.  
  
"Welcome to our life."  
  
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Honestly, John wasn't all that surprised by their turn of bad fortune. It was them after all. Stuff like this always seemed to happen to them. What was worrying him was how bad it could get. Because it always got worse before it got better. Plus, they didn't know the first thing about the politics in this corner of Wonderland. And now they were meeting the Queen of Hearts.  
  
"Come now, John," Harvey peeked around a cartoon hedge in the side of his head. "We'll be able to catch the hedgehogs. Or it's off with our head!" he shouted, jumping out in a hideous black and red cartoon dress. Squelching the thoughts around him, John ignored Harvey and instead concentrated on not tripping over any roots.  
  
After about an hour of woods, the trees gave way to scrubland dominated by a huge black pyramid. "Holy crap!" were the only words that sprang to mind. He didn't even notice the town built around its base until they were almost upon it. In contrast to the grandeur of the pyramid, the town was shabby. Rickety houses made of wood, mud, and waddle leaned against each other like the slums of a commerce planet or third world country. But what struck him the most was the people. As they trooped by behind their captors, the people, human in appearance, stopped what they were doing and groveled on the ground. Not one head was raised.  
  
John glanced at their captors but none of them were paying attention. Jack and Teal'c ahead of him however most certainly were, and were very unhappy about it. Both of them had the hard, closed off look of people holding back intense anger. Unable to ask, John could only wonder what was going on.  
  
As they drew closer to the pyramid, the houses grew thinner, stopping about a hundred meters away from the gate. The road continued to the gate where more soldiers stood guard and scurrying townspeople carted goods in and out. All movement stopped as they passed. Muttered whispers of 'sholva' and 'tauri' dripped with contempt from the soldiers' lips as every eye except those of the bowing townspeople turned upon them.  
  
After conversing with the head soldier, their own guard led them inside through golden, columnated halls to a dusty cell that hadn't seen a mop in at least a decade.  
  
"Nice," John glanced around as the heavy cell doors slid closed behind them. D'argo just glared at him as SG-1 settled in on the floor. "What?"  
  
"I knew this was a bad idea."  
  
"Oh, don't start with the I-told-you-so's," John returned. "We knew it was a risk and that's why I didn't want you to come."  
  
"Looks like you need me now."  
  
"To what? Hold my hand? This is my second cell this week."  
  
"Needed me then too. Why didn't you take us to their planet?"  
  
"There weren't exactly road signs, D'argo."  
  
"I knew you would frell this up," the Luxan threw up his hands in disgust.  
  
"Will you two shut the frell up?!" Aeryn shouted at them.  
  
"He started it!" John and D'argo chorused, each one pointing at the other.  
  
From his seat on the floor, Jack rolled his eyes. "What are you, twelve?" he asked.  
  
"I hate being a prisoner," D'argo groused, glancing apologetically towards John. The human nodded understanding. "So where are we? And who did we piss off?"  
  
"Well, we don't know where we are in terms of space, but as long as we can get to the stargate, we can get back to Earth," said Daniel. "As for who we pissed off, that would be the Goa'uld that rules this world, though I still don't know which one. We," he waved a hand a his teammates, "are, uh . . .rather well known."  
  
"For what?" John asked flatly, cause he didn't think it was for their fried chicken.  
  
"Oh, you know, killing as many as we can," Jack blithely replied with a smile.  
  
"What does the Goa'uld look like?" asked Aeryn.  
  
"A human," Sam answered. "The Goa'uld are parasites about this big," she held her hands a foot apart. "They burrow into the neck of their human host and take over the person's mind and body, using it as their own. You can tell it's them by their voice and glowing eyes."  
  
"Take over their mind?" John felt cold. "Are they still alive?"  
  
"The host remains aware, yes," Sam answered tightly.  
  
"It's why we were jumpy about those microbe things," said Jack quietly. John couldn't blame them.  
  
"So why are the humans here?" asked D'argo. "You have spaceflight?"  
  
"We don't, the Goa'uld do," said Daniel. "Actually, the humans were probably brought through the stargate from Earth thousands of years ago as slaves. From the looks of it, they are still slaves here."  
  
"And there's only one Goa'uld thing?" said Aeryn surprised. "Couldn't they rebel?"  
  
"They believe that the Goa'uld is their god," said Teal'c. "As do the Jaffa who serve her."  
  
"How did you get out?" asked John, glancing at the snake tattoo on the man's forehead.  
  
"I long had my doubts as the true nature of Apophis, the Goa'uld whom I served. When I encountered Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson I finally saw people who could end our slavery to the Goa'uld. I helped them escaped and joined the SGC in the war against the false gods."  
  
"So these things - "  
  
"Snakeheads," Jack provided.  
  
" - want to kill us?" asked Aeryn.  
  
"Pretty much. They'll be all snooty about it," said Jack. "Since this bitch looks like a low level Goa'uld, she might try to trade us for something."  
  
"Hopefully," said Daniel. Off everyone's look he added, "I don't like dying."  
  
"Nobody's dying, Daniel," said Jack with a look that defied destiny. "We've had enough of that."  
  
"You've died before?" asked Aeryn sharply. John almost missed the look she shot his way.  
  
All of SG-1 except for Teal'c looked uncomfortable. Finally, Daniel answered ruefully. "Yeah, all of us at one time or another."  
  
"Killed by these parasites?" asked D'argo.  
  
Daniel nodded. D'argo looked at John, then Aeryn, all of them sharing the same thought. "Frell."  
  
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* 


	24. The Almighty

Section 24: The Almighty  
  
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"Alright," John said into the heavy silence. "I vote we escape." He had had enough of cells to last a lifetime and from what the others said, John really wasn't too keen on sticking around to see how these people treated their prisoners.  
  
"These cells are solid," Jack informed him. "You need a doohickey to open the doors on these things. Which we don't have," he added sarcastically.  
  
"Been here before?" John asked.  
  
The Colonel shrugged. "They all have the same design."  
  
"So you could get us to the front door if we got out of here?" Aeryn asked startled by this news. Jack shrugged another yes, and she and John exchanged a glance. This was a much better situation than last time.  
  
"So all in favor of escaping?" John asked at large, raising his hand followed by Aeryn and D'argo. The four members of SG-1 looked at them a little bewildered by the sudden appearance of the democratic process. "All opposed?" Their hands dropped but the others, still confused, didn't move to counter the motion. "Good. So what do we have here?"  
  
John turned to inspect he door. Behind him he could hear someone getting to their feet.  
  
"Weren't you listening to me?" asked Jack.  
  
"Yep," said John. "You said if we could get out of here you could get us out of the building."  
  
"Do you know how many Jaffa are standing between us and the front door? To many for us to get through without weapons."  
  
"We're not going to sit here and just wait for them to kill us!" snapped D'argo. And while John agreed wholeheartedly with his friend, Jack did have a point.  
  
"So what's your plan? Can we knock out the guards when they come to get us?"  
  
"No. Jaffa are much stronger than humans. We would quickly be recaptured," said Teal'c. "We must outsmart our opponents."  
  
Unfortunately, before they could come up with a better plan, the door groaned and opened. The soldiers with the forehead tattoos were back, this time led by one with a gold symbol much like Teal'c's. Judging from the way the others made way for him, the different color was a symbol of rank.  
  
Everyone got to their feet to greet the newcomers. They stood staring at each other for a minute, the contempt and loathing evident between them. "Taur'i and sholva scum!" the gold head practically growled at them.  
  
"At your service," Jack replied with a smile that lacked any humor.  
  
The Jaffa, Teal'c had called them, merely frowned. "The great and powerful Nit commands your presence."  
  
"Nit?" John asked before he could stop himself. The creature pretending to be a god was named 'Nit'? Despite the situation, John felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, which only made the soldiers frown even more.  
  
"More like 'Nitwit,'" Jack quipped only to be punched in the gut by the unamused Jaffa. Sam and Daniel were beside him in a flash as John steadied him from falling to the ground. Teal'c stood between them and the Jaffa, staring him down.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"I'm alright, Daniel," the Colonel gasped. "You know me."  
  
"You and your big mouth," Daniel said trying and failing to lighten the mood. Jack smiled in a grimace anyway as he straightened back up, a hand on his bruised middle. He nodded a thanks to John who was no longer smiling. They were in deep dren and helpless for the moment. The severity of the situation was sinking in. No Moya, no backup, no weapons. Just pissed of soldiers with silly brands on their foreheads.  
  
"Come. And be silent," the Jaffa growled again. This time they obeyed and merely followed, twenty soldiers enclosing around them. The four members of SG-1 were doing the looking and eyebrow thing, talking without speaking aloud. John only wished he could understand. He felt like they were walking into a snake pit blindfolded.  
  
A very opulent snake pit he discovered. The audience hall was easily the size of Moya's hangar. And solid gold. Light filtered in through the large windows set high in the walls and designed so that the rays illuminated the central throne and the woman sitting upon it. She lounged elegantly against the armrest clad in a gold dress that did little to hide her bronzed skin. Black hair fell straight across her shoulders. Around her feet, young women sat watching as John and the rest were led in and forced to their knees.  
  
John glared defiantly at the woman. He really hated all this kneeling.  
  
"So these are infamous Taur'i," said the woman in a deep resonant voice that did not belong to any human voice. "And the sholva Teal'c that have my brethren up in arms and anger."  
  
"And dead," said Daniel coldly and with a venom that surprised John.  
  
"Dead? Perhaps," the woman conceded with a light smile of one who is in control. "But you are now in my territory. My prisoners. I do not think such luck will hold here." In one graceful move, the woman swept to her feet, her eyes glowing in a flash of white light. "I am Nit. And you are mine."  
  
"You know Ra was this confident when we met him - ow!" Whatever Jack was going to say next was cut off by the pole jammed into his side by the soldier behind him.  
  
"I will not tolerate any more insolence," said Nit coldly. "You will be silent!" If looks could kill, Nit would have been incinerated by the one Jack sent her way. "Pathetic, Taur'i. Weak. What could you hope to do to a god?"  
  
"Since you are not a god - " Daniel received a thwack across the ribs this time.  
  
"I am the Goddess Nit!" the woman snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You are nothing but an annoyance that will soon be dealt with."  
  
"So you do fear us and our influence," said Teal'c somberly yet with a hint of triumph.  
  
"No, I do not fear you!" Nit practically quivered with angry energy. "But it is my pleasure to see you die painfully."  
  
"What? Now?" John asked, startled. Frell, they didn't have a plan yet.  
  
"No, not now," Nit turned to him, calmer at the idea of killing them. "I must make an example of you. I must show my incompetent brethren how to take care of the petty Taur'i. Take them away!" She waved her hand impatiently at the soldiers who immediately yanked them to their feet. John would have bruises on his arm in the morning. "Except for that one." Nit pointed to D'argo, and John felt his blood run cold. What did she want with his friend?  
  
"D'argo," he called, but his friend merely glanced at him, his face set in the warrior's mask that had survived both war and prison. John could do little more than hope that he would survive this encounter as his guard wrenched his arm and pulled him after the others.  
  
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Reference: http:// www. philae. nu/ akhet/ NetjeruN. Html Yes there really is an Egyptian goddess named Nit. It was too good to pass up!  
  
* 


	25. Of Cabbages and Kings

Section 25: Of Cabbages and Kings  
  
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"What will she do to him?" demanded Aeryn as soon as the door clanged shut behind them.  
  
"I don't know," said Jack tightly with a quick glance at Daniel. Watching the by-play, she guessed that even if he didn't know, he had a frelling good idea.  
  
"What is it?" asked John, picking up the same vibes. They were standing with their shoulders touching, facing the four humans - or three humans and one reformed Jaffa. Aeryn resisted the urge to beat an explanation out of one of them.  
  
"He's our friend and we deserve to know," she said dangerously. After another moment, Jack nodded.  
  
"We can't be sure since D'argo is a different species, but she could want to find out what he is, what he's made of. Some Goa'uld tend to . . . experiment," Daniel fixed his gaze on the far wall. "Of course, Nit, or Neith in the classical Egyptian pantheon was originally a goddess of war in the Sais region of Lower Egypt in the Predynastic era. She might not even be interested in redefining the perfect soldier. She could just be curious."  
  
"Well, that's a relief," Jack said sarcastically.  
  
Daniel merely flicked him a glance. "Yeah, well, she was also the patron of weaving, and according to one set of myths, the mother of Ra and Sobek."  
  
"And this means what exactly?" asked Aeryn tensely. The strange names added only more confusion and frustration, rather than clearing things up. Beside her, John was just as confused.  
  
"It means she's old and the mother of one of the snakeheads we killed. Not a happy camper," Jack summed up.  
  
"Torture?" asked John flatly.  
  
"Yeah," Sam confirmed.  
  
Aeryn felt John tense as her own skin went cold, too many recent memories surfacing in her mind. "What about the rest of us?" she asked quietly.  
  
Jack and Daniel shrugged in unison, their own faces as closed off as Teal'c's. Sam for her part looked worriedly at her two teammates, and Aeryn knew they had been captured and tortured before. And killed.  
  
"What were they calling you in there?" John asked, breaking the heavy silence that had draped over them.  
  
"What?" Daniel appeared to mentally shake himself.  
  
"Those names. Tory - n - shovel," John clarified.  
  
"Oh. Taur'i and sholva," Daniel corrected him. Nearby Sam and Jack slid down the wall to sit on the floor. " 'Taur'i' is the Goa'uld word for humans form Earth. It's our tribe if you will. 'Sholva' means traitor. They're talking about Teal'c because he defected to us. It's not a very nice word."  
  
Aeryn laughed harshly. "They seldom are." Silence settled over them once more as did the weight of thinking dark thoughts that came with waiting in a cell. Aeryn wandered with John over to the door, but found that Jack had been right. There was nothing they could do from the inside. Finally, she and John settled against the opposite wall from the others. Teal'c sat cross-legged with his eyes closed much like Zhaan used to when she meditated.  
  
"So, got any names picked out yet?" asked Jack. Startled, Aeryn looked at John who tried not to look guilty about having told them about the baby. When she simply smiled he grinned back.  
  
Aeryn shook her head, still caught up in John's gaze. "No, not really."  
  
"What, no John Jr.?"  
  
"I'm already a Junior," John sighed with another wry grin for the Colonel. "It was bad enough growing up in my dad's shadow, worse with his name. And with my rep in the Territories . . . no way."  
  
"What about other family names?" asked Sam. "That's what my brother and his wife did. One from each side."  
  
"How 'bout it, Aeryn? Any juicy names from your family?"  
  
The ex-peacekeeper smiled sadly. "We named Moya's son after my father," she said. "He died a cycle ago."  
  
"I'm sorry," said Daniel.  
  
"Moya had a son?" Jack asked curiously. "Another ship?" Aeryn nodded. "How did he die?"  
  
"A warrior," Aeryn answered. Even now, it still felt like only yesterday that she was helping Moya calm him down after he was born. She wondered if time would pass as quickly for her own child.  
  
"What about your mother's name for a girl?" asked Daniel. His attempt at lightening the subject failed as Aeryn thought of her mother, a woman destroyed by her love for a man she was forced to kill and the daughter she grew to hate.  
  
"I have no mother."  
  
"Aunts, uncles, grandparents?" asked Jack.  
  
"I have this crazy uncle Pete," said John, diverting attention away from her. As he launched into a story about roadsters and cops, Aeryn took his hand in a silent thank you. He squeezed her hand back.  
  
"We are not naming him Pete," Aeryn told them when he finished.  
  
"Why not? Pete's a great name!" John protested.  
  
"I don't like it."  
  
"You could name him Daniel, or Danielle if it's a girl," suggested Jack cutting his eyes at his friend who immediately protested.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"What? You have a good solid name. Nothing to be ashamed of."  
  
"I'm not ashamed of it, but I hardly think they should name their child after me."  
  
"Sam!" Jack snapped his fingers. "Good for a boy or a girl . . ."  
  
"How about Jack?" Sam glared at her commanding officer. "Or Jonathan."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"That's your first name?" asked John.  
  
Jack rolled his eyes and nodded. "Could be worse I suppose. Could be something like Angus."  
  
"You know when we get back to Earth we can get you guys a baby name book," said Sam.  
  
At the mention of Earth, they all fell silent. Jack and Sam glanced around their cell, looking for anything they missed.  
  
"So anyone come up with an escape plan?" asked John.  
  
"Carter?"  
  
"We're in a pretty primitive lockup, sir. We're not getting out until we're let out."  
  
"Too bad there are no Jaffa to sweet talk."  
  
"Or steal weapons from," added John.  
  
"So how did you two get out of that prison we rescued you from?" asked Daniel  
  
John smiled slightly. "We used the sick prisoner trick. Knocked out the guards when they came in."  
  
"I do not believe that will work here," said Teal'c, startling them all with his return to the conversation.  
  
"No," Jack agreed. "We'll have to try something else. Something that will hopefully take out the Nitwit while we're at it."  
  
"And get D'argo."  
  
"And get D'argo."  
  
Aeryn only prayed he was still alive.  
  
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The Nit info came from the same site reference from section 24.  
  
* 


	26. Snake Charming

Section 26: Snake Charming  
  
This part is rated PG-13 for content.  
  
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His eyes never left her while she looked him over. A curious smile that held everything except warmth drifted lazily across her lips. D'argo stood there calmly as if being inspected like a slave by his captor were not nerve-wracking. All he had to do was not be the prisoner she expected and he would have the advantage. He just hoped she didn't get him angry because then all the control he had would be gone.  
  
"You are an interesting creature," Nit broke the silence. She waved a hand at her handmaidens who scurried away and out the side door. "Can you speak?"  
  
"Yes," D'argo replied solemnly in his own language.  
  
Nit frowned. "Not intelligent, I see."  
  
"I can speak," he repeated, this time in John's tongue. Nit raised her eyebrow in surprise.  
  
"Interesting. . . . you look nothing more than a beast of burden," she said.  
  
"Oh, I am quite more than that," D'argo returned softly. He caught her eye and held it, refusing to back down.  
  
"So it seems," said Nit, a different, speculating gleam entering her eye. "Why do you travel with the Taur'i? You are their ally?"  
  
"It suits my purpose to travel with them."  
  
"And what purpose would that be?"  
  
"My own."  
  
A blow from behind knocked him forward to the ground, but even surprised, D'argo refused to make a sound.  
  
"Answer me," Nit commanded dangerously. It was a show of power and dominance, a game D'argo had learned to play with John. The Luxan got to his feet defiantly and glared at the woman.  
  
"And what do I get in return? What will you offer me in their place?"  
  
"You are hardly in a position to bargain, Beast," said Nit dismissively. The hard footsteps of the Jaffa edged closer to him from behind. "I will get an answer from you one way or another."  
  
"Then you know nothing of the Luxan people!" D'argo spat back. "I will be dead before you have even finished torturing me. And my knowledge of these Taur'i with me."  
  
"Bold words," Nit said coldly. "You will soon regret them when you are begging for your miserable life."  
  
D'argo felt a knot of cold dread coalesce inside him as she called his bluff. Now what?! He furiously racked his brain trying to think of what to say that would save his hide from a grisly death. What would John do? Aeryn? Frell, what would Chiana do? D'argo knew he didn't have the acting skills John did or the talent to talk his way out of a tight spot. Even Aeryn could play the soldier that slipped under everyone's senses. And Chiana was simply one of the best liars he knew, not to mention the fact that she knew how to use her body to her full advantage. And what did D'argo have? Nothing he could use here.  
  
"What? No brave reply?" asked Nit smugly. She retreated to her throne, what there was of her dress swaying suggestively from her curves. She was a woman with more than one kind of power and she knew it.  
  
"I was just wondering," D'argo said, the words coming to him as he spoke, "what good would I be to you mutilated beyond recognition?"  
  
Nit raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in question. "I would have your knowledge and the satisfaction of your painful death."  
  
"There are other ways to be satisfied," said D'argo slowly. "Other ways to gain my cooperation."  
  
"And why should I . . . cooperate with you?" Nit seemed amused by his proposition.  
  
"Why would you not?" asked D'argo, dropping his voice another tone the way that always made Chiana shudder. Nit blinked slowly. When she opened her eyes, they swept over him from head to foot, the speculating gleam returning.  
  
"You are a beast."  
  
"Would you prefer one of you sniveling slaves?"  
  
"You would try to kill me."  
  
"If you are truly a god then you cannot be killed," D'argo pressed. Slowly, confidently he stepped towards her, never breaking the eye contact that had her mesmerized. "Are you not a god?" he challenged playfully.  
  
"I am Nit! And you are my prisoner."  
  
"Then you have nothing to fear from me." Step. "And everything to gain." Step. "Why would I stay with the weak humans," step, "when there is you?" Step. "So beautiful."  
  
He was a mere two metras from her now, close enough to see that she truly was beautiful if one liked exaggerated perfection. D'argo found it somewhat repulsive for all that he was male. But he didn't let her see that. Nit instead was preening under his attention, convinced she was going to get everything she wanted.  
  
"You will do my bidding," she said.  
  
"And more," D'argo replied with a rakish grin. "If not you can still torture me."  
  
"Do not believe that option has lost its appeal."  
  
"Then tie me up. . . and do what you will."  
  
The piercing look she gave him spoke of smoldering fires about to burst into flame. "Jaffa!" she cried without looking up. "Leave us!" Neither one of them spoke as the remaining soldiers filed out and the door clanged shut behind them. "Come," Nit stretched out a hand to D'argo, inviting him to close the remaining space between them.  
  
D'argo grinned viciously. "You are a fool," he said, and before Nit had a chance to be surprised, he shot out his tongue and knocked her human body unconscious with a venomous blow to her neck. Nit crumpled at his feet.  
  
Smiling in satisfaction at his own cleverness, D'argo bent down to finish her off with a clean snap of the neck. Rather dishonorable, he conceded, but easier than having her come after him later when he was trying to rescue the others. Now he just needed to get past the guards and find John and Aeryn and his Qualta blade. Then all they had to do was get back to that circle thing and get back to Moya. Right. No problem.  
  
Preoccupied by his miserable thoughts, D'argo didn't hear the slithering sound from the body until it was too late.  
  
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I know some of you probably won't buy that Nit is that stupid, but think about it, she's an out of the loop Goa'uld surrounded by people who always do what they're told confronted by one sexy Luxan. (If you haven't seen D'argo, just take my word for it, he's got the stuff!) Until next time.  
  
* 


	27. Snakehead

Section 27: Snakehead  
  
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D'argo screamed. He choked it off as best he could but the pain in the tonka that covered his neck was almost unbearable. The sensitive appendage burned like white-hot fire, worse than any torture he'd ever endured. And through it he could feel something moving, scrabbling at his neck as it wriggled through the hole it had made. Frantically, D'argo grabbed at the worm, trying to stop it from clawing open his head. It was persistent but unmotivated by a pain so great that D'argo fought the black spots from taking his consciousness. He could feel blood dripping down his back. And the thing still clawed at him.  
  
D'argo didn't think. He only felt fire and teeth, his arms trying to extract the creature stuck halfway through his tonka, and the growing weakness in his muscles as the toxins released when his coagulated blood hit the air recirculated into his body. He didn't think about how long he had until his body gave out, or what would happen if the creature entered his head. It hurt too much, like live current rushing through him. He barely realized it when his legs gave way and he crashed to the ground. Or when driven by instinct he started to bang his head against the ground to stimulate the blood flow so it wouldn't poison him. It wasn't long until he knocked himself unconscious. At the back of his neck, a blue tail wiggled.  
  
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Jack looked at his watch. A mere minute had passed since the last time he had looked. "It's been three hours," he murmured to Teal'c who sat beside him near the door. "We should have heard something by now."  
  
"The Goa'uld can be very patient, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "And we have no other choice but to wait. As distasteful as it is."  
  
"I just wish we knew what was happening with D'argo. I mean, it's not like the snakeheads to not brag about it."  
  
"But he is of an unknown race," said Teal'c. "Her usual methods of torture may not be as effective, though John Crichton did indicate that he would not be immune to them. She may be healing him in the sarcophagus."  
  
"Gaaa," Jack sighed, tilting his head back against the wall. "What is it with them and those damn sarcophaguses?"  
  
"They are the Goa'uld, O'Neill," Teal'c simply said with a sideways look at his friend. Jack closed his eyes. It summed them up pretty well. All he wanted right now was to get out of there.  
  
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D'argo woke up with a lurch, a massive migraine competing with the burning pain in his tonka and neck. The gold ceiling above him didn't look right and it took him a few microts to remember that the bright vault belonged to a woman. Slowly and carefully, he sat up, ignoring the pain , and looked around. The woman was dead. He remembered now. Something in his neck trying to get into his head.  
  
He cautiously raised his hand to the mass of throbbing pain and jerked back when it met unfamiliar flesh. Gingerly he touched it again. It didn't move. Sighing with relief, D'argo explored it more carefully. The thing was stuck in his tonka, the head limply knocking against the bloody patch it had carved into his neck. With evil delight, D'argo blessed both his thick skin and toxic blood. And greatly appreciated the head banging that had finished the job.  
  
Of course, if he couldn't find a way out without bringing the guards down upon himself, it would have all been for nothing. That was assuming he'd be able to stand. With no other choice but to try, D'argo pulled his feet under him and levered himself up. The pounding in his head doubled and a wave of dizziness swept over him. Gritting his teeth he rode it out, then slowly, painfully, shuffled toward the side door where the girls had disappeared to earlier. One foot in front of the other, that's all it took.  
  
D'argo thought he was going to fall down again when he finally made it. With a thud he leaned against the wall and glared at the door that had no obvious control to open it. Now what? Part of him knew he had to do something, the other part was too exhausted to either think or care. All he wanted to do was sleep.  
  
Catching himself before it was too late, D'argo shook off his stupor. No! He had to get out of there. Find the others. With a strangled cry, he banged his fist on the door. Immediately it opened revealing the wide-eyed stares of ten girls too bewildered and scared to move.  
  
"You!" D'argo barked at the one in front. "You will take me to the prisoners or I will kill you!" The girl jerked her head back and forth and backed away. Growling, D'argo pushed the pain away stalked forward. "Your mistress is dead. I am in charge now," he said low and threatening. "If you do as I say, you will live to see another day. If not . . ." he reached forward to grab her, and she quickly nodded. "You and you," he pointed out two more girls. "Come with us." Too terrified to speak, the girls led him out into the hall.  
  
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"What time is it?" asked John. Sam looked at her watch for the zillionth time in so many minutes.  
  
"Six thirty-three. It's been almost four and a half hours."  
  
"John . . ." Sam trailed off, worry etched over her features. She didn't know what she was going to say. Offering comfort now seemed like an empty gesture.  
  
"He could still be alive," said John. Aeryn looked up at him then back at a spot on the floor, her unreadable mask unchanged.  
  
"Yeah," was all Sam said mustering a smile that wasn't returned. They lapsed back into silence.  
  
"Hey!" The Colonel sat up suddenly. Both he and Teal'c shuffled quickly to their feet. Sam felt her heart speed up as she too rose. A quick glance at the others found them also watching the door intently.  
  
Soon it opened. One of Nit's young women stood in the doorway, and behind her was D'argo leaning on two others, stained brown and looking like he'd just fought a mountain lion.  
  
"D'argo!" Both Aeryn and John rushed forward to their friend with Jack and Teal'c.  
  
The warrior smiled weakly at them. "Always needing rescuing," he said before passing out on the floor.  
  
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* 


	28. Escape The Sequel

Section 28: Escape The Sequel  
  
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"D'argo!" John shouted as his friend crumpled to the ground. One thought clamoring with the sudden rush of adrenaline: brown blood. Brown blood was bad - in fact it topped the list of bad. Brown meant toxins and not blood loss were why the Luxan was out cold. John barely noticed Jack and Teal'c as he and Aeryn crashed to their knees beside them, hands frantically searching for the wound.  
  
"What is that?" asked Aeryn when they found it at the back of his neck.  
  
"Damn!" Jack recoiled. A gray-blue snakelike creature had burrowed through the tonka and torn away the skin of D'argo's neck which was still oozing blood. "That's Nit. She tried to take him over. What happened in there?"  
  
"We don't have time to figure it out," John told him. "Help me roll him over."  
  
"What?"  
  
But Aeryn was already helping him. Ignoring the confused colonel, they got D'argo onto his stomach and with a murmured apology, hit the wound.  
  
"Hey!" Jack wrenched John's arm away, staring at him in shock. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Saving his life!" John tried to shake his arm away from the Colonel but Jack had a solid grip. On his other side, shielded from Jack and Teal'c, Aeryn took over and left him to the explanations. "Unless we keep his blood flowing clear it'll become toxic and kill him. It's probably what killed that thing in his tentacle."  
  
"The Goa'uld," said Teal'c as Jack let him go and watched while Aeryn finally got D'argo's circulation working again.  
  
"He's still out cold," said Aeryn. She glanced around. Daniel had herded the girls into the cell with them while Sam stood guard. "Let's get out of here."  
  
Teal'c gathered D'argo into his arms, staggering only slightly under his weight. Jack took the lead with Sam followed by Teal'c and Daniel then John and Aeryn running sweep.  
  
"Where would they keep our weapons?" asked John once they got underway turning down another matching corridor.  
  
"Forget our weapons," said Jack, glancing over his shoulder. "We cut our losses and get out of here."  
  
"Whoa!" John stopped short. "There's soldiers running around here. We're not going to make it without our guns. And I'm not leaving Winona here."  
  
"Winona?" Jack raised his eyebrows questioningly.  
  
John winced internally. He probably shouldn't have mentioned her name. "My gun. And D'argo needs his Qualta blade so his ship won't kill us," he added.  
  
"You named your gun?" Jack asked incredulously.  
  
"Our stuff is probably in one of the store rooms," Daniel intervened. "Most likely one nearby." Jack gave John another speculative glance before nodding decisively.  
  
"Lead the way, Danny."  
  
They tried four storerooms before they found their weapons. As Daniel had said, it was reasonably close to their cell. Getting there they had easily dodged the one squad of soldiers that tromped by. By the time they left though, the alarm had gone up.  
  
"This way!" Jack whispered as they hurried out. They had all of five seconds of peace before everything went to hell. The sound of running metal footsteps was their only warning before a bunch of soldiers rounded the corner. John dove behind the nearest column and opened fire. It was over in a matter of minutes: the soldiers all lay dead or dying on the floor while the recently escaped prisoners ran as fast as they could out of there.  
  
The fight out was a blur of red energy bolts and machine gun fire. John lost count of the twists and turns and the numbers against them. The noisy soldiers underestimated them at every turn. Nevertheless, they managed to hit Sam in the shoulder, incapacitating her. John helped Teal'c shoulder D'argo so the other man had an arm free to shoot with. But in the end, there were too many. Cornered and tired, Daniel found them an empty room to hole up in.  
  
"So now what?" John asked lowering D'argo to the floor and collapsing next to him.  
  
"Any bright ideas?" Jack asked at large. Outside the door the Jaffa were shouting orders back and forth as they searched for them.  
  
"Explosives?" suggested Aeryn. She leaned against the wall near the door with D'argo's Qualta blade strapped to her back. Grim-faced and grungy, she reminded John of when they had first met. And then she smiled at him. "Worked last time."  
  
"We have enough to do a little damage, but we'd still be overwhelmed," Sam shook her head. "Otherwise we'd have to get to the generators, and seeing as we're trapped here. . ."  
  
"Well, you know what they say, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em,'" said John.  
  
"Join 'em?" asked Daniel confused.  
  
"That never works, John," Aeryn scowled.  
  
"Sure it does."  
  
"Until it backfires."  
  
"Pretend we're Jaffa?" Jack interrupted the brewing argument. He looked dubiously at D'argo and Sam whom Daniel was patching up. "I don't think we'll be able to pull that off."  
  
"Then are we close enough to an outside wall to blow a new door?" asked Aeryn going back to her original idea.  
  
"We may be indeed," said Teal'c thoughtfully. He stood from his crouched position and turned toward the back wall. "It may take three blasts to burst free and I do not know if our explosives are powerful enough to take down the walls. But it is possible. We would have to set each successive detonation quickly for they will draw the Jaffa to us."  
  
"Alright then," said Jack. "Let's break out the toys and do this."  
  
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Twenty minutes later, bloody and bruised from the shrapnel, SG-1, John, and Aeryn with their wounded in tow were running for the forest as if a squad of, well, Jaffa were on their tails. Jack was amazed they had made it out with only minimal damage through the four hallways between them and freedom. It was certainly a new way to escape from a Goa'uld palace and surprisingly effective. All alive and almost at the 'gate. All in a day's work.  
  
The Jaffa were within shooting range by the time they reached the 'gate clearing. Daniel immediately started dialing up the SGC while Jack and their new friends covered their retreat. Finally the comforting sound of the wormhole engaging whooshed out behind them. Running backward, Jack was the last to dive through. He landed heavily on the ramp, barely noticing the impact as he shouted, "Close the iris!" Only when the metal shield spun over the open wormhole did he relax. Two thuds on the other side echoed through the still room as the chasing Jaffa met their fate.  
  
Jack picked himself up and smiled at General Hammond at the bottom of the ramp.  
  
"Welcome back, Colonel," said the General. "You're two days overdue. I was beginning to get worried."  
  
Jack just grinned wider. Trust George to downplay his concern. "You know us, sir," he replied walking down to meet him. "And we picked up some new friends on the way. I'd like to introduce John Crichton and Aeryn Sun and their friend by Teal'c is D'argo."  
  
"Welcome to Earth Mr. Crichton, Ms. Sun," the General shook their hands. Neither John nor Aeryn smiled back; in fact they looked downright suspicious. But as Janet and her medical teams bustled in and took charge, Jack gave it little thought. They were back home, safe, and in relatively good shape. "Colonel, we'll debrief in two hours."  
  
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Finally! Got them out in one piece. Except for Sam and D'argo. (I swear writing makes me evil.) But hey, they're safe on Earth! (He he he . . .)  
  
* 


	29. Medics and Movies

Section 29: Medics and Movies  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
"It's standard procedure after we 'gate in," Daniel was saying. "We have to make sure a Goa'uld didn't hitch a ride or that we picked up some deadly disease offworld. It's not fun when we find out after the fact." He grimaced wryly as he said this, and Aeryn knew he was speaking from experience. Knowing though didn't make her feel any better about having some doctor examining her.  
  
The two of them were briskly following the caravan of gurneys with Teal'c and John through steel gray corridors that were oddly familiar in their martial simplicity. Colored stripes and periodic lettering on the walls were the only distinguishing features in the windowless maze. Aeryn was having difficulty remembering their path. Hopefully John would have better luck with his native language.  
  
"So this is just a standard physical?" John asked. He was more relaxed than Aeryn was in this new environment, but that was only to be expected.  
  
"Standard physical, blood check, and a CAT scan where Janet takes a look at what's in your head," Daniel clarified. "It's not that bad. Plus, we get painkillers."  
  
"Says the person who belongs here," Aeryn muttered. Daniel stopped at that and placed a hand on her arm.  
  
"Nothing's going to happen to you here, Aeryn," he said seriously, his eyes fixing on hers, begging for her trust. "We won't let it. Me, Jack, Teal'c, the General, and everybody at the SGC is on your side. We stopped the higher ups from getting their hands on Teal'c when he first joined us and since then we've helped countless aliens. This is just a check-up."  
  
He was sincere, but she couldn't stop the feeling of apprehension. Nevertheless, Aeryn nodded for Daniel because she did trust him, come what may. When Daniel let her go and continued on, she shot John a look to which he nodded. There was trust and then there was trust.  
  
The infirmary was already busy by the time they caught up. They arrived just in time to see a nurse pull a curtain around Sam's bed. At the other end of the room, other med techs bustled around D'argo hooking him up to machines. The person inspecting his head and neck looked up when they came in.  
  
"Daniel," the short woman gently set the Luxan's head back on the gurney and purposefully walked towards them. She had red hair tied tightly to her head and intense eyes that brooked no room for argument. "I'm Dr. Frasier. What can you tell me about my patient?"  
  
"How bad is it?" asked John.  
  
The doctor turned and gave him a quick appraising look. "He's unconscious. He has a dead Goa'uld lodged in the tentacle that covers his neck and bad tearing underneath where it was trying to get in. Given the progress it made, I'm surprised the Goa'uld didn't take him over. But right now I need to know everything you know about his physiology so I can get him in and out of surgery without killing him." She lifted her eyebrows expectantly for a report. Aeryn blinked at the absolute confidence that radiated from the petite woman and found herself liking and trusting her. She had taken D'argo under her protection and was determined to see him back to health. A knot of worry for her friend loosened in Aeryn's stomach.  
  
"We'll tell you what we can," said John. Frasier nodded and snagged a clipboard from nearby to take notes.  
  
"So Aeryn," said Daniel once the doctor had hurried off to surgery with D'argo. "I know you were on Earth in your universe. Anything you missed then that you want to see on this trip?"  
  
Aeryn glanced at him surprised, wondering just where the question had come from. She had a few microts distraction when the techs led them to beds for their physicals. Daniel ended up between her and John.  
  
"Aeryn?" he was waiting for an answer.  
  
"I don't know," she said, thinking back over her first visit. "We were in Florida then. We had a guarded house to live in to keep the press away." The woman inspecting her held a bright light to her eyes.  
  
"Well, no one knows you're here now."  
  
"Where are we anyway?" asked John from the other side.  
  
"Colorado at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base," said Daniel.  
  
"NORAD?" asked John, surprised. Aeryn recognized the name from their previous visit but couldn't place it.  
  
"Actually they're about twenty floors above us," Daniel smiled. "We're one of the best kept secrets in the world. Officially we do deep space radar telemetry down here."  
  
Aeryn smiled at that. "Glorified sensor technicians?" She tried to look at him, but the woman now poking around her ear firmly held her head in place. "Sorry."  
  
The woman smiled, obviously used to it.  
  
"So, anywhere you want to go?" Daniel returned to his earlier question. "There's not much in Colorado Springs I guess. We have the park, the mall . . ." he trained off thinking. "The mountains are always an option."  
  
"Where do you go?" asked John.  
  
"Jack's house," Daniel shrugged with a wry grin. "I don't get out much."  
  
"What about the films?" Aeryn asked, succeeding this time in getting a look out of the corner of her eye. It didn't last long when the nurse pulled a curtain around her bed. A little nervous at the sudden separation, Aeryn continued talking. "We only watched that one on the television."  
  
"Yeah, we could do that," said Daniel as if there were no barrier between them. "I don't know what's playing but we can look it up online as soon as we get cleared out of here. What type of movies do you like?"  
  
Aeryn hissed when cold hands inspected her abdomen under her shirt. The nurse smiled apologetically. "Last thing, honest," she said. Aeryn nodded and thought about the movie they had watched at Jack's - John's father's - house. It had been about Christmas and an old fat man that everyone thought was a myth. She remembered crying at one point.  
  
"I liked the Christmas one," she said.  
  
"It's a little early for Christmas, but I'm sure we can find something like it. A family movie or maybe a comedy," said Daniel. "I don't really like action. Get enough of that at work."  
  
He and John began throwing out titles of movies Aeryn should see as part of her Earth culture experience. While they were at the CAT machine, Daniel told them what Jack had given and gotten Teal'c hooked on. Aeryn listened, asking about plots and characters they mentioned that she recognized from the earthisms John had spouted over the cycles. By the time the medical exam was over, Daniel had volunteered Jack to host a movie night as soon as they could go off base.  
  
"Will he mind?" asked John after Daniel's pronouncement.  
  
"Nah," Daniel grinned. "It'll be fine. Come on, let's go check on Sam."  
  
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* 


	30. Briefing

Section 30: Briefing  
  
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Jack sighed contentedly as he sank into one of his usual chairs in the briefing room. Tired and freshly clean, the familiarity around him was comforting. Daniel sat across from him with a cup of coffee, Teal'c, tall and straight next to him. Sam's shoulder wound had kept her in the infirmary where John and Aeryn were also waiting at the Doc's request until their blood tests came back from the lab. D'argo had just come out of surgery when the three members of SG-1 had left for the briefing.  
  
"At ease people," said General Hammond before Jack even had half a chance to rise. Settling himself at the head of the table, the General turned to Jack. "So, an alternate reality," he began the briefing.  
  
Jack took it from there. "There's this whole thing with wormholes . . ."  
  
"Jack," said Daniel gently with a smile. The Colonel graciously let the archeologist continue. "According to John Crichton wormhole systems open into every place and time giving us alternate realities. He thinks that the stargate essentially keeps us in one system that shares the same time so we can go to different places in the same reality. I'm sure Sam will go into it in depth in her report, but that's the basic idea. What he and Sam think happened was a breach in our stargate system that let us out into the overall wormhole and then into their reality."  
  
"And how did you get back if you could have ended up anywhere?"  
  
"Crichton can navigate wormholes," said Jack. "He wasn't too clear on how he did it."  
  
"He told Major Carter and me that he navigated by smell," Teal'c spoke up. "I believe he mentioned French toast."  
  
"French toast?" both Jack and Hammond chorused, wondering just where that had come from.  
  
"I do not understand what breakfast has to do with wormholes either," said Teal'c archly.  
  
"And these people," said the General. "What are your impressions of them?"  
  
"They're good people," said Jack immediately, seconded by Daniel and a nod from Teal'c. He went on to explain briefly about Chiana and how they met D'argo and Rygel. "They trusted us on their ship and to help them rescue John and Aeryn. And then they got us back here. They're very committed to each other and I don't suggest pissing them off."  
  
"How dangerous are they?" Hammond asked sharply.  
  
"I believe they'll only be a threat if we provoke them," said Daniel. "And I promised Aeryn we wouldn't let anything happen to them here." Daniel looked at Jack as he said this. The Colonel read the determination and silent defiant demand for back up should anything go down and solemnly nodded.  
  
"From what little they said, I gathered that they've survived their own share of being hunted, captured, and tortured," Jack added quietly.  
  
"Understood," said Hammond. "Colonel, if you would offer them the VIP suites for their stay until their companion has recovered. You're on stand down for the next three days once you get your reports in. Dismissed."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Jack stood as his CO retreated to his office. Without a word, Daniel and Teal'c fell in beside him and they headed back to the infirmary.  
  
"So, pizza and movies at your house tomorrow night?" suggested Daniel with a sideways glance at Jack. A little surprised that Daniel was the one suggesting the get-together, Jack nodded.  
  
"Sounds good," he said.  
  
Daniel smiled. "Good."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Mr. Crichton?" the doctor's soft voice roused John from a light doze. A quick glance around found Aeryn paused in her conversation with Sam on the next bed, wondering what was going on. "We weren't properly introduced earlier. I'm Doctor Janet Frasier, chief medical officer for the base. I was wondering if I could have a word with you in my office?"  
  
"About what?" asked John, surprised by the request. She didn't look particularly threatening, but still, what did she want?  
  
"I'm just curious about some of the test results we got back," Dr. Frasier answered with a reassuring smile. Beside him Aeryn tensed, but Sam remained calm.  
  
"What's going on?" the downed scientist asked  
  
Frasier shook her head. "I'm not sure. That's why I'd like to talk to Mr. Crichton." She waited for John to rise and follow her.  
  
Curious himself now and still a little leery of the situation, John settled into the offered chair while the doctor closed the door.  
  
"First, I'd like to reassure you that I don't think anything is wrong. Your blood tests all came back fine," said Dr. Frasier. She sat behind her desk and picked up a brain scan from the top of the paper clutter. John just knew what she was going to ask about. "But your CAT scan . . . was interesting. Did you know that you have an anomalous section of brain tissue?"  
  
John met the intense eyes that were probing his. "Yeah," he said shortly, not wanting to think about that dark time. "What of it?"  
  
Dr. Frasier looked back at the scan, self-consciously. "Well, it almost looks like a transplant," she began, "and given how deep it is, I'm surprised you don't have serious brain damage." She looked at him again. "Frankly I'm not sure what to make of it."  
  
"Frankly, it's none of your business."  
  
"If it makes you a threat to this base, then it is my business," the doctor replied. "If it was the result of a recent wound or torture there could be other trauma. I have experience dealing with neural implants. I can help you if you let me," she added sincerely, and John saw that she really was concerned about the mismatched part of his head.  
  
"It happened two years ago," John offered. "Done by a professional with this tool thing that isolated what I needed out. He replaced it with a close match from a donor. Except for some memory loss, there was no lasting damage."  
  
"No lasting damage?" the doc repeated with a skeptical raise of her eyebrows.  
  
John shrugged again and let her read what she would from it. He really didn't want to talk about chips and Scorpy right now. "Do I look crazy to you?"  
  
"No," Dr. Frasier sighed. "You don't. Why that section though?"  
  
"Had to get rid of a little voice in my ear," said John dryly.  
  
"Voices, huh?" the doctor gave him a sour smile.  
  
"Voice?!" Harvey echoed indignantly. "Do I look like a voice to you?" In the middle of an idyllic green pasture, Harvey wore a light blue body suit with a golden halo on his chest. White fluffy wings sprouted from his back, extending out in an impressive display. In a ridiculous yellow bodysuit of his own, John glared at him, unimpressed.  
  
"Alright, Mr. Crichton," the doc drew his mind back to the matter at hand. "I understand you don't want to talk about it." She smiled at him, perhaps not happily, but it was still a smile, and for that John was grateful. "You'll be happy to hear that your friend is recovering nicely. I got the Goa'uld out and patched his tentacle back together. I'm not sure how his blood toxin affected him yet but he should be up and around within a day or so."  
  
"Thanks, Doctor," John said, getting to his feet as she did. "When can we see him?"  
  
"Once he wakes up," she said sternly, leading him back into the main room. As they rejoined Sam and Aeryn at the major's bed, the rest of SG-1 came back from their briefing. Aeryn pulled John aside while the others greeted Sam.  
  
"What was that about?" she asked quietly in Sebacean.  
  
"She was wondering about my brain surgery," answered John in the same language.  
  
"Are we going to have a problem?"  
  
"She was just concerned. Really, Aeryn," he added off his mate's suspicious stare. "I got the impression that she takes her job very seriously. D'argo's going to be fine, by the way."  
  
Aeryn nodded, glancing around the room as she did so. John followed her eyes taking in the people around the bed nearby, the nurses working in the corner, the guard by the door. "It's not them I don't trust," she said.  
  
"One thing at a time, baby," John took her hand in his. "One thing at a time."  
  
**************************************************************************** ********************************************************************  
  
Quick AN, 12/9/03: Pathways has been updated, but as you can see with no new post. I just got through revising sections 1-30 and reposted them. If you see anymore typos or grammar flubs, or stuff that just doesn't sit well, let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks for sticking with this story. It really means a lot.  
  
* 


	31. Mission's End

Section 31: Mission's End  
  
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The infirmary was quiet when Jack got back from getting John and Aeryn settled. Sam was fast asleep, her face smoothed of any pain from her shoulder wound. They would probably get an extended downtime once Frasier updated the General on her condition and frankly, Jack was looking forward to it. It had been a long week since his team had first 'gated into the alternate universe and they could do with the rest.  
  
Two beds over, D'argo lay in recovery on his stomach, his neck bandaged in white. Jack just watched him for a moment, his mind finally tired enough to relax. He felt like he hadn't had time to think in all the fighting and escaping. And the blowing up of ships. And just . . . everything else. Did he always feel this tired after missions?  
  
"Hey." Janet arrived quietly to check on her patients. "I thought I told you to go home."  
  
Jack smiled and shook his head. "Don't you know this chair had my name on it?"  
  
"I know. But you should still get some rest tonight."  
  
"We're on stand down."  
  
"Which means you should be resting," Janet glared at him until he looked away and shrugged. It was an old game between them. She knew he wasn't going to move no matter what she said but she had to try.  
  
"How's D'argo doing?" Jack changed the subject. It wasn't subtle, but she would have seen through subtle too.  
  
As it was, the doctor gave him a lingering look before going along with it. "As far as I can tell, he's recovering nicely. I still haven't gotten his blood work back yet but it sure made surgery interesting."  
  
"Aeryn kept hitting his neck to keep it flowing."  
  
"That's what they said," Janet nodded.  
  
"Is there any way we can duplicate its effect?" Jack asked tentatively. "I'm not saying we should experiment on him, but if we have his blood . . . it's a poison that we know kills the Goa'uld."  
  
"We'll know more when the lab gets back," Janet shrugged this time. "I'll talk to him about it when he wakes up tomorrow, though, see what he thinks."  
  
"He's a good guy," said Jack. "Pretty straight forward." Janet nodded.  
  
"Go home, Colonel," she turned to him. "Or at least sleep on one of the spare beds."  
  
Jack smiled back and waved as the doctor left for home herself. With a sigh he fidgeted around in his chair to find a more comfortable spot while sat watch over his downed Major and their new friend. Eventually he would fall asleep on the empty bed between them, but for now he was content to let his mind wander nowhere in particular and wait.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Sam's eyelids felt heavy, heavy enough that all she wanted was to roll over and snuggle into the pillow beneath her head. The dull ache in her shoulder throbbed gently underneath the pull of the painkillers, effectively squashing her previous desire to roll over. Instead, she opened her eyes to the quiet infirmary. The lights were dim and the room hummed from the monitoring equipment. Colonel O'Neill dozed in a chair next to her bed.  
  
She smiled. Always at vigil, or at the least, close by whenever she or her teammates were down. Though she would never admit it, Sam found it very comforting - and a sign of imminent disaster if he wasn't there. Closing her eyes again, she fell back into a light sleep.  
  
The creak of the chair woke her again. Sam didn't know how much time had passed, but now the Colonel was watching her. He smiled when her gaze met his.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked in a low voice.  
  
Sam had the good sense not to try to shrug. "Pretty well, all things considered, sir," she said. "Had worse." He gave her an incredulous look, which was rather comedic and made her smile. "Really, sir. I'm fine."  
  
"You call a staff blast 'fine'?" He was teasing her.  
  
"You've said worse."  
  
"Not by much."  
  
"That's because you don't *say* anything. You just pretend you're not hurt. Sir."  
  
"And who is it that spends most of their time in the infirmary?" he replied archly with a pointed look.  
  
"Daniel," Sam shot right back, tongue firmly in cheek. The Colonel opened his mouth to say something but then shut it, conceding the point with a grin. For Sam, it was like the mission had finally ended. The banter felt good after the last few days and helped relieve the tension wrought from combat and a precarious situation.  
  
"We're on stand down for a couple of days," O'Neill told her, settling back into his chair with another groan of plastic.  
  
"How are the . . . others from Moya?" Sam didn't quite know what to call them as a group since they had no official name.  
  
"D'argo's recovering. John and Aeryn are asleep in the VIP quarters. Daniel wants to have them for dinner tomorrow night. They've taken everything in stride so far," he answered.  
  
"Once D'argo has recovered, they're going back?"  
  
"We haven't talked about it yet, but I guess so."  
  
"Did Janet say how long that would be?"  
  
O'Neill shook his head. "Why?" he asked.  
  
"I want to talk to John about wormholes again. There's so much we just touched on when we were figuring out how to get back. This whole new perspective on wormholes is just fascinating - sorry, sir," she stopped herself before his eyes glazed over. But it was fascinating. What she'd learned already had given her ideas for a dozen experiments, especially now that they had their own spaceship they might actually be able to form their own free wormhole, though they probably shouldn't do it near Earth, since John had said something about destroying planets. Maybe -  
  
"Carter," the Colonel said a little more loudly to get her attention. "You can ask the Doc tomorrow. Go back to sleep."  
  
All of a sudden, tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. New breakthroughs were always exciting. But the ache in her shoulder settled Sam down somewhat. She knew from experience that pushing herself now would only hinder her recovery, so she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But the Colonel was snoring long before she was.  
  
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* 


	32. Above Ground

Section 32: Above Ground  
  
************************************************************************ ************************************************************************  
  
It was a blustery day above ground with overcast skies and the hint of rain in the air. Contrary to Jack's teasing, Daniel had actually grown up with weather like this in New York, and though it wasn't home like the desert was home, it held good memories for him. It was invigorating he mused, like refreshing water after a parched day in the heat.  
  
They were in downtown Colorado Springs on a Friday afternoon. Daniel and Teal'c were showing John and Aeryn the sights. They had started that morning with the scenic drive down Cheyenne Mountain which had only been a mild hit, Aeryn apologetically telling them that you've seen one set of impressive mountains, you've seen them all. So now they were in the city poking around shops and boutiques. They had just left a local ceramics place with beautiful tea sets and bowls and other decorative pieces that cost more than they were worth. It was a little gaudy for Daniel's taste, but John and Aeryn seemed to like the bright colors.  
  
"Rygel would love that place," John commented as they left.  
  
"Really?" asked Daniel, wondering what the small alien would see there of interest.  
  
"He can't pass up worthless pretty things," John explained. "He's got to be one of the greediest people I know."  
  
"Well, he used to be a king, didn't he?" Daniel pointed out. "He's used to having everything at his beck and call. You can't really fault him for his upbringing."  
  
"Except he was deposed over two hundred cycles ago," said Aeryn with a sideways look up from the scarves she was browsing on a sidewalk rack.  
  
"Oh," said Daniel, surprised by this new bit of information. He was prevented from replying by a subtle nudge from Teal'c. This conversation was better suited for a more secure location. So Daniel dropped it and continued on.  
  
They didn't stay long with the scarves, though Daniel did notice Teal'c eyeing a dark green toboggan with white snowflakes and made a note to mention it to Janet's daughter Cassie who always gave Teal'c a hat for Christmas. Next they wandered through a bookstore where Aeryn looked a little lost before John dragged her off to the children's section. Daniel let them go, his own attention caught by The Divinci Code, a mystery that explored the origins of the Christian Church. He wondered briefly what influence the Goa'uld legacy had on the Early Church other than the perseverance of pagan worship. Deciding he really should get a life outside of work, Daniel wandered on. He passed Teal'c in the magazine section with a copy of People on his way to check on John and Aeryn.  
  
It took a few minutes, but he finally found them on the floor under the Dr. Seuss shelf with easily twenty books scattered around them: ABC's, Green Eggs and Ham, Fox in Socks, The Lorax to name a few on top. They both looked up when he stopped at the end of the aisle, not wanting to intrude.  
  
"Dr. Seuss?" he asked lightly.  
  
John grinned. "That's how I learned to read. Which one's your favorite?"  
  
Daniel shrugged. "Never really read them," he said.  
  
"You're kidding," said John incredulously. "You never read Dr. Seuss?"  
  
"I lived in Egypt until I was about eight," Daniel explained. "I probably spoke better Arabic and French than I did English when I was learning to read."  
  
John just shook his head. "Not even The Cat in the Hat?" Daniel shook his head. "So what did you read?"  
  
"Egyptian mythologies and other history stuff my parents had around. When I did read, of course," the archeologist smiled. "Mostly I was just underfoot."  
  
"Well, now's you're chance," said Aeryn with a nod to the piece of floor beside her. "It's almost as good as Sesame Street."  
  
After politely declining, Daniel went off to browse in the world history section until they left half an hour later. By that time it was getting late enough that they headed back to the car and took off for Jack's neighborhood. Since Jack was picking up food on his way home with Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had been charged with the night's movie selections.  
  
"So there are a few . . . uh, rules, when it comes to movies," said Daniel as they entered the Blockbuster. Teal'c went on in while Aeryn and John waited. "No military movies, no sciencey movies, and no historical movies pre - 1700. We don't get action movies with lots of cars and stuff blowing up, or family films where someone dies - that includes the dog. No thrillers." Daniel paused, trying to think of what he missed.  
  
"So what do you watch?" asked John.  
  
"Comedies," said Daniel. "Happy endings. A surprising amount of sci-fi since Teal'c loves it."  
  
They started with the new releases and worked their way through the rest of the store. Surprisingly, John didn't seem to mind the restrictions the team had toward movies in an effort to get away from their everyday life on the front lines. He seemed to naturally gravitate toward the more lighthearted movies anyway, the ones that Daniel felt showed why life was worth living and fighting for. In the end it was Teal'c who decided for them by simply handing John a movie and saying, "She must see this."  
  
John smiled and didn't argue.  
  
They arrived at Jack's house just as the pizza guy left. Daniel didn't bother to knock on the way in. "Jack?" he called, leading the way inside.  
  
"He's in the kitchen," said Sam from the couch. Her left arm was bandaged tightly across her chest but otherwise she looked good.  
  
"How's the arm?" he asked.  
  
"Same. Hey, guys," she greeted the others behind him.  
  
"What movies did you get?" Jack emerged from the kitchen with beers for all except Sam and Teal'c who got Coke. "John, Aeryn, make yourselves at home," he smiled at his guests. "Danny, the pizza's on the counter."  
  
While Daniel was in the kitchen retrieving the food and paper plates he heard Jack's indignant "Teal'c!" and a laugh from Sam as they found out what the night's entertainment was to be.  
  
"It is a classic, O'Neill," said Teal'c calmly as Daniel returned. "And it was you who showed me this movie."  
  
"But we've seen it a million times," groused Jack. Reluctantly, he put in the movie while everyone else grabbed pizza and settled in. "And if anyone says it - "  
  
" 'My name is Inigo Montoya," Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c chorused. "You killed my father. Prepare to die.'"  
  
Jack sighed loudly like a put upon parent while the rest of them just grinned happily as The Princess Bride began.  
  
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* 


	33. Day On

Section 33: Day On  
  
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Jack was enjoying his day off. Last night had been nice in the company of others, but now was time to be alone, and it was time he treasured. He had a nice late start followed by the relaxing pleasure of watching the hockey game his faithful VCR had taped for him while he had been offworld. He was halfway through the third period with the Kings scoring point for point against the Sharks when the phone rang. He almost didn't answer it.  
  
With a sigh, he pressed pause. "Hello."  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, this is Corporal Sanders. The General needs you to come in for a meeting about your last mission, sir."  
  
Jack's heart sank. So much for a day off. "Alright, I'm on my way. Has the rest of my team been called in?" By rest of his team, he meant Daniel since Janet hadn't wanted Carter on her own in her house and had thus confined the Major to the infirmary.  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"I'll take care of it. Thanks." He hung up and gazed mournfully at the paused game. It would be there when he got back he supposed. Still, nothing to ruin his day off like a call from the base. He rang up Daniel then grabbed his jacket and was out the door.  
  
One drive, three checkpoints, and two elevators later, Jack was striding down the halls of the SGC. He met Daniel in the locker room where they both quickly changed into blue uniforms.  
  
"Any idea what this is about?" asked Daniel.  
  
"Nope," said Jack. "Though it better be good. It's five to four in the third period and I'm not waiting another week to see who wins." Daniel gave him a blank look before following him out the door to the briefing room.  
  
They were the last to arrive. General Hammond sat at his usual place at the head of the table. Dr. Frasier and two other men Jack didn't recognize sat on his left, both wearing Major's insignia. On the right Major Davis, the SGC's Pentagon liaison, sat with a two star General. Their guests looked up in surprise when they entered.  
  
"Ah, Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson," General Hammond greeted them. "This is General Forge and Drs. Rhodes and Dendron. They're with the medical group at Area 51 that studies the Goa'uld. And they are very interested in our guest, Mr. D'argo."  
  
"General, Majors," Jack nodded to them before sitting gingerly at the table next to Dr. Rhodes. Daniel took the seat next to the General.  
  
"General Hammond, what is this?" Forge demanded sharply. He looked appraisingly over Jack and Daniel, trying to figure out what Hammond was playing at. Jack had a pretty good idea.  
  
"General Forge here read Dr. Frasier's report on the poisonous properties of our guest's blood," Hammond ignored Forge's question and instead gave his men a pointed look.  
  
"General," said Forge.  
  
"Forgive me, General Forge," Hammond turned his attention back to the visitor. "Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson were the ones who made first contact with Mr. D'argo and his people. I think it only prudent that you are aware of the political ramifications of your request."  
  
"And what request would that be?" asked Daniel.  
  
"In order to do the necessary research they need a supply of the toxin in his blood," said Doc Frasier. "And until we can produce it ourselves . . . "  
  
"You need the source," Jack finished. "Didn't we already go through this with Teal'c?"  
  
"Colonel, I'm sure you can appreciate the difference between the situations," said Forge down his nose. "Here we have a known poison that has proven very effective against the Goa'uld. This will not be a random study."  
  
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Jack smiled sarcastically. "Have you even asked him?"  
  
"He hasn't woken up yet," said Dr. Frasier.  
  
"Colonel," Davis spoke up, "the Pentagon is looking very closely at this matter. We're here to ask for his help now."  
  
Jack looked at Daniel who replied with a silent lift of his eyebrows before looking down at the table. They both heard Davis's unspoken warning that the Pentagon might not be in an asking mood later.  
  
"Enough stalling," said Forge impatiently. "This is a waste of time. General Hammond, I have orders here and unless you want me to report on your obstruction of those orders, you will let me and my men inspect the alien."  
  
Hammond visibly bristled. "And I'm sure, General Forge, that you can appreciate the diplomatic implications of treating a guest of this facility as a lab rat. Now before I let you anywhere near Mr. D'argo, you will listen to Colonel O'Neill's assessment of the political situation. Colonel?"  
  
"Yes, sir," said Jack though he had no idea what to say. He didn't think escaped prisoners really factored into political situations.  
  
"General, if I may," Daniel came to Jack's rescue. Hammond nodded for him to continue. "Mr. D'argo is actually Captain D'argo. His ship and most of his crew are waiting for him in their reality. You know about the faulty stargate that took us to their reality?"  
  
"Yes, what does that have to do - "  
  
Daniel spoke over Forge's impatient reply. "It was his scientists that figured out a way to get us back to our reality. Since the stargate was in hostile territory, Captain D'argo was forced to come with us when we were attacked. We discussed this as possibility, but if he and his two soldiers that are also here are not returned soon, you can bet that his crew will stop at nothing to get him back."  
  
"The crew of one ship?" Forge asked incredulously.  
  
"General, the hangar of this ship could eat an aircraft carrier for breakfast," said Jack. Not that it was filled with anything, but he wasn't going to tell him that.  
  
"But according to your report, they can only get into our reality. They don't know the coordinates of Earth." General Forge said smugly. "I don't think they'll be giving us any trouble. My orders stand. General Hammond, if you're quite through."  
  
Hammond glared at him. "General - "  
  
"General Hammond," Forge but him off crisply. "My orders supercede any of your protests. Until the President orders otherwise, you will give me my patient."  
  
Jack watched his CO simmer with repressed rage. "Don't think this is over."  
  
"Yes, it is. Now take me to my alien."  
  
Janet tried to protest, but the General politely ignored her using his own doctors as his ammunition against her. At Hammond's shake of the head, Jack and Daniel held their own protests as an airman led General Forge to the infirmary. Hammond retreated to his office and the red phone. They had lost this round, but they were not going to lose the next.  
  
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	34. More Problems, More Plans

Section 34: More Problems, More Plans  
  
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"Shall we go visit Sam?" Jack turned to Daniel with an unhappy grimace as they walked down the hall. But Daniel shook his head.  
  
"Teal'c is there with her. We need to let John and Aeryn know. I don't think they're going to take this very well." Jack gave him 'duh' look and didn't dignify it with an answer, but Daniel went on. "I'm serious, Jack. D'argo was going to go on a suicide mission into a prison filled with soldiers just to rescue his two friends. He blew a whole in the side of a building. What do you think the two of them will do?"  
  
"Alright, alright, I get the point," said Jack stepping onto the elevator and hitting the button that would take them up to the VIP quarters as opposed to the infirmary. "You don't think they'd try to spring him while he's still wounded, do you?"  
  
Daniel gave him a sideways glance. "You would."  
  
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"How long do we have?" asked John. His insides felt like they had been doused with ice. He looked over at Aeryn, but her formerly smiling face was closed off and worried. Before them, Jack and Daniel exchanged a glance.  
  
"The General's working on it," said Jack. "I don't know."  
  
"That doesn't give us much time," said Aeryn quietly.  
  
"Time for what?" asked Daniel with a quick worried glance at Jack. For some reason, the move annoyed John, like they were parents who knew their kids were up to something and were trying to weasel it out of them.  
  
"Hey, we're not going to let them take him," he snapped. "You say you don't want these people to get their hands on him? Then help us get him out of here before they do."  
  
"John, look, General Hammond is on the phone with the President," said Daniel. "We didn't let them take Teal'c, we're not going to let them take D'argo."  
  
"And what if the President doesn't help?" demanded John. "What then? They take him and it's too late for us to get him back!"  
  
"Hey, hey," Jack lifted a calming hand. "We didn't say we weren't going to help. We just can't do this with you two flying off the handle."  
  
"So we just wait for you to talk them out of this?" asked Aeryn. "We've dealt with madmen like this before, and they're not going to stop just because you tell them to. We have to get out of here now, before the situation gets any worse."  
  
"We need our weapons," said John. Daniel and Jack didn't protest; they didn't say anything. That in itself scared John more than their assurances that nothing would happen to D'argo. What chance did they really have of getting the President to order the dogs off?  
  
"Daniel? Wasn't Sam really interested in getting a look at their guns and how they worked or something?" asked Jack never taking his eyes of John.  
  
"What - "  
  
"And weren't you just fascinated by the artwork on D'argo's sword thing?"  
  
"Oh," said Daniel with a small grin. "Yeah, very interested,"  
  
"Thank you," said John relieved.  
  
"Don't thank us," said Jack innocently. "It's all in a day's research. If you're bored with your room, I'm sure Teal'c and Sam would enjoy showing you around the base. So if you'll excuse us, Danny has to get his toys and I have to go talk to the General about a phone call." Jack and Daniel both nodded and left.  
  
"What do you think?" John asked Aeryn when they were alone again. The stalwart warrior let out a small smile of her own.  
  
" 'If only we had a wheelbarrow, that would be something,'" she quoted the movie from the night before.  
  
John snorted at the reference. "No holocaust cloak either." He reached out and took her hand pulling her into a close hug for a moment. Aeryn relaxed against him, tension flowing through every muscle. John closed his eyes. "Why does everything happen to us?" he murmured into her loose hair.  
  
Aeryn shook her head, not bothering to answer. Instead she said quietly, "We need a back-up plan."  
  
John couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him. "I hate the back-up plan," he whispered.  
  
"Come on." Aeryn pulled back enough to kiss him lightly. "We need to get properly dressed." Letting go of each other, John's hands lingered on her waist as he followed her to the dresser where they exchanged their borrowed denim and cotton for black leather.  
  
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Winona, Aeryn's pulse pistol, and D'argo's blade were waiting for them in Daniel's office when they were ostensibly getting a tour. "He's a civilian," Jack had told them when he met them to inform them of the plan. "He can get away with it."  
  
When Daniel stepped out to get some coffee, their airman shadow waiting just outside the cracked door, John and Aeryn secreted their weapons away, all the while talking about the oddities lying about the room. John had never seen so much old junk in a room before, except on tv in some old movie. His own office at IASA had been just as cluttered at times, but this was truly amazing. Jool would drool over this room and the secrets it held. The thought brought John up short, reminding him just how far from home they really were. When Daniel returned they were more than ready to go.  
  
"Jack's with the General?" Aeryn asked. "When will he have them out of the infirmary?"  
  
"I'll call him when we get there," said Daniel. "Then they'll page General Forge and his doctors and you can kidnap your friend." He gave them a sardonic smile. "Teal'c will help you get to the gate room. No one will question you."  
  
John didn't reply. He wasn't holding his breath. He wouldn't relax until they were safely in the wormhole. How desperate was that thought?  
  
The infirmary wasn't much further and they continued on in tense silence. Only when they got there, there were too many soldiers in the hallway. And too many loud voices in the infirmary, one of them Dr. Frasier's, another one Jack's. Retreating to just out of sight, they stopped to listen.  
  
"My patient is still in recovery!" The doctor's strident tones rang out through the corridor. "To take him now would set back his recovery. If he dies then where will your research be!"  
  
Frell, John cursed, steaming from this new development. Hands braced on his hips, he looked at Aeryn who gazed back darkly, just as unhappy. "Back- up plan," she said flatly.  
  
"Back-up plan," John sighed. They turned to Daniel. John drew Winona, Aeryn drew her gun. "We're not going to hurt you," he said. Then before Daniel could say anything, John grabbed him into a headlock and rounded the corner. Five startled soldiers turned looked up and after a brief hesitation, raised their guns.  
  
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	35. Negotiations

Section 35: Negotiations  
  
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"Hey, guys!" John called out cheerfully. "What do we have here? A moving out party? And no one invited us?" To their credit, the soldiers didn't flinch but kept their weapons trained on them. One of them licked his lips nervously. "Drop your guns," said John. None of them moved.  
  
"Now!" shouted Aeryn from one knee behind the corner, punctuating her command with a warning shot that sparked nervous glances and cessation of voices from the infirmary.  
  
"Hey, you like this guy or not?" John demanded as another young face popped up behind those between him and the door. "'Cause I ain't holdin' a candy bar here."  
  
"Release Dr. Jackson, you have nowhere to go!" one of the Marines shouted.  
  
"Fine, you want to call my bluff?" John shot the floor at Daniel's feet, making the soldiers jump. Beneath his fingers, he felt Daniel go rigid. "I can take him apart piece by piece. Now move out of my way."  
  
By now they had a captive audience just inside the infirmary door. "Airman," said Jack softly and calmly. "Let him in." The soldiers shot worried looks at each other before obeying and opening a path into the infirmary.  
  
"Ah, ah, bulldogs first," John prompted them before him. He didn't want any guns at his back even if he did have a hostage. Aeryn followed covering his back with the casual air of one who knows her business. Once inside, the soldiers arrayed themselves by the door. The nurses and medics retreated to the right with Dr. Frasier in front nervously eyeing Winona at Daniel's throat. John hated it too but what choice did they have now? He glanced over General Hammond and the General that wanted D'argo, the latter looking angry and confused.  
  
"What is this? Who are you?" the stranger demanded.  
  
John ignored him and regretfully met Jack's hurt gaze. "Sorry," he said. "It's easier when I take myself hostage, but I don't think you really care about me right now."  
  
"John, what are you doing?" asked Jack still calm though his eyes flickered to Daniel.  
  
"Jack, Jack, Jack," John shook his head. "You don't get D'argo. It's as simple as that."  
  
"Let Daniel go, John. You don't want to do this."  
  
John let loose a snort of laughter that held anything but mirth. "You're right Jack, I don't want to do this. But your General Dracula here wants to tear my best friend apart in the name of science. You tell me what I should do."  
  
"We still have your friend in our custody," said the General. "And you are still in the most heavily guarded base on Earth. You'll never get out of here alive."  
  
The sudden sound of pulse fire ripped through the room. With a cry of pain, the interloping General fell to his knees, his right thigh scorched.  
  
Aeryn glared at him over her pulse pistol that was still trained on him. Five guns snapped up in response. "Maybe you won't get out of here alive," she said coldly. "Now give us D'argo and let us go. I'm sick of talking." The stillness of the room broke into controlled pandemonium as Dr. Frasier rushed to help the wounded man and a dozen people started shouting orders, chief among them General Hammond.  
  
"Quiet!" he bellowed above the others and quiet is what he got. The portly General surveyed the scene around him. "Doctor?" he asked.  
  
"He's losing blood but he'll be fine," the doctor reported brusquely, signaling her medical staff to help her get her new patient up and into a bed.  
  
That settled the General turned his eye to Aeryn and John who glared back just as stubbornly. "Airmen, stand down," he said.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"I said stand down, airmen," Hammond repeated in a tone that brooked no disobedience. The soldiers lowered their weapons warily.  
  
"But, sir - "  
  
"Dr. Rhodes, do not even think about questioning my orders," the General snapped at the man who had spoken. Behind him, Jack was grinning from ear to ear. Watching the scene unfold in its complete reversal made John sigh in relief. His grip on Daniel, while never deadly, nevertheless relaxed. "We have a hostage situation here and General Forge has been shot. I see little choice but to let these people go as they request."  
  
"I can shoot him too if you want," offered Aeryn. John glanced at her sharply, but saw the light dancing behind her eyes, though from the shuffling of the soldiers, they did not.  
  
"Ms. Sun, let's get one thing straight here," the General took a step forward radiating anger. "I may be sympathetic to your situation but I will not condone the shooting of anyone on this base." Aeryn matched him stare for stare.  
  
"You're still standing between me and D'argo," she said quietly.  
  
"And I'm not moving until Mr. Crichton releases Dr. Jackson," Hammond replied. "I give you my word that you will be allowed to leave here unhindered. I assure you that nothing will lose my goodwill more quickly than holding my people at gunpoint."  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"His word's good, Aeryn," said Jack with a nod at Hammond.  
  
Aeryn slowly lowered her gun. "Alright. But we're not disarming."  
  
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," said Hammond. "I need a guarantee that my people will be safe."  
  
"Jack can have them," John spoke up. The others turned their attention from Aeryn to him. He let go of Daniel's collar and offered him Winona, butt first. Daniel looked first at the gun, then at John with sad eyes. "Sorry about all this," John looked away, ashamed for treating a good man badly. When he met his eyes again though he held them and said, "But I'd do it again." Daniel blinked then nodded, taking Winona and retreating to Jack's side.  
  
"Thank you," said General Hammond. "As soon as Dr. Frasier clears Mr. D'argo for gate travel, you may leave anytime you wish. I'm afraid I'll have to keep you under guard. Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Dendron, if I might see you in my office." With a sharp glance at Jack, the General left and the infirmary cleared out of extraneous people leaving John and Aeryn under the wary watch of SG-1 and the five Marines.  
  
"That was your back-up plan?" Daniel quietly broke the uncomfortable silence.  
  
John shrugged, a mixture of embarrassed and defiant. "Yeah. More or less. Worked pretty well actually." He was thankful for that at least. Damn, he was tired. The adrenaline rush of the past ten minutes was draining away leaving him feeling like he'd just run a marathon.  
  
"Some plan," said Jack.  
  
"Well, yours didn't work."  
  
"But did you have to take Daniel hostage?" Jack's eyes flashed dangerously and another stab of guilt washed through John. He glanced at Aeryn but she still held rigid control over her features.  
  
"Jack."  
  
"Daniel. He held a gun to your head."  
  
"I wouldn't have hurt him," John broke the staring contest impatiently.  
  
"You were bluffing?" Jack sounded like he didn't quite believe him. John nodded anyway. "And what if we'd called your bluff?"  
  
"I would have killed that General," said Aeryn. The men just looked at her. Without another word, she stepped around the humans to get to D'argo's bed. With a last nod, John followed.  
  
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	36. Slumber Party

Section 36: Slumber Party  
  
AN: I apologize for the four-week wait but things got hectic and then I didn't have internet for three weeks. I hope the six posts (31-36) make up for it. Pathways is finally winding down and should be finished this week in time for the Sparky Awards. Thank you for being patient with me and thanks for reading.  
  
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Jack watched John and Aeryn doze on the other side of D'argo's bed. They looked so peaceful resting against each other, so different from Aeryn's earlier coldness and John's wild psychosis. Even when they had been attacked on Moya there had been none of the desperation he had seen here. Jack just couldn't believe they had taken Daniel hostage. That had shocked him more than he expected, mostly because he liked them, trusted them, and never thought that they would turn on him.  
  
He sighed and shifted in his chair, his gaze coming to rest on D'argo's slumbering form. He couldn't blame them for wanting to protect their friend - hell, he'd been helping them, he gave them their guns back. At least it had ended with Daniel safely getting coffee with Sam and not lying next to D'argo.  
  
Jack's musings were interrupted by movement from the warrior's bed. A mumble of unintelligible words drifted out of the pillow. "D'argo," said Jack softly, rising out of his chair. A quick glance at John and Aeryn showed them still asleep, so no help there. He laid a hand on D'argo's shoulder. "D'argo, it's Jack O'Neill. I need you in English buddy." More incomprehensible garbage as D'argo tried to sit up. "Easy, easy," said Jack. He looked around and caught the eye of a nearby nurse who nodded and went to get Doc Frasier.  
  
"Where am I?" The croak that was D'argo's voice was no more than a whisper. "What happened?"  
  
Jack squatted down into his field of vision. "You killed the Nitwit when she tried to get in your head, got us out of our cell. We got back to the 'gate and now we're on Earth - our Earth anyway - in the infirmary."  
  
"John, Aeryn?"  
  
"Over there," he nodded over D'argo's shoulder. "Sleeping."  
  
"Mr. D'argo," Janet joined them. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like I have a hole in my head," D'argo grimaced.  
  
Janet smiled. "Well, that's a pretty fair assessment. Colonel, if you don't mind?"  
  
"Of course," Jack stepped back and got out of the way as Janet started her examination. D'argo made an interesting patient, first protesting but quickly quelled by a stern look. Jack let the inconsequential conversation wash over him, struck by how normal treating an alien was now. It wasn't until D'argo asked about General Forge a few beds over that he paid attention.  
  
"That's General Forge," said Janet with a slide-long glance at Jack. "He wanted to transfer you to another base for your recovery."  
  
D'argo looked over at his friends, still asleep next to Jack who still guarded their weapons. "He wanted to experiment on me?" Janet opened her mouth to reply but ended up simply nodding. "What happened?"  
  
Frasier lifted her eyebrows and smiled tightly. "Mr. Crichton took Dr. Jackson hostage and Ms. Sun shot General Forge."  
  
"John didn't build a bomb did he?"  
  
"What!?" Jack stood quickly.  
  
"What? Did someone say my name?" The noise had woken John and Aeryn who were now blinking off sleep. "D'argo!" said Aeryn, going to his side.  
  
"What's this about a bomb?" Jack joined them, catching D'argo's eye.  
  
"Bomb? What bomb?" John looked from one to the other.  
  
"I asked if you made one?" D'argo clarified intently. John looked confused for a moment before his face cleared and he shook his head.  
  
"No. I didn't. I'm not going to. As long as we get out of here," John slid cautious eyes to Jack.  
  
"You build . . . bombs?" Jack lifted an eyebrow, not sure he liked what he was hearing.  
  
"I also build spaceships and play golf on weekends. What's you handicap?"  
  
Jack gave a hardee-har-har shake of his head. He really didn't need this right now. What a headache. "Look you'll get out of here. Just don't build any bombs, okay?"  
  
John looked at him solemnly. "No bombs," he agreed. Turning to Janet he asked, "So when can we leave? Not that we're not enjoying our stay, but we'd like to get home before more of him show up," he gestured toward General Forge.  
  
"Well there's not much more I can do for you here," Janet spoke to D'argo. "Once you get back to your ship you need rest and fresh bandages, if one of you could take care of that?" she looked at Aeryn.  
  
"We'll get Chiana on it," she said.  
  
"Your doctor?" asked Janet.  
  
"His girlfriend," John nodded at D'argo. Jack's brows shot up, that was news.  
  
"Alright. I'd like to keep you here one more day and then first thing in the morning you're free to go," said Janet. She looked over the rest of them. "Now my patient needs to rest."  
  
"No, I'm fine - "  
  
"Rest," Janet told him.  
  
D'argo didn't dare voice another protest and lay quietly back on the bed. John and Aeryn settled into chairs nearby, not willing to leave him unguarded. All was quiet until Janet was safely in her office.  
  
D'argo sat up. "Are we prisoners?" he asked. John and Aeryn looked at each other before turning to Jack.  
  
"No," said the Colonel. "You're not prisoners. Really," he added when they just stared at him skeptically. "You'd be in a secure cell if you were, trust me."  
  
"Sorry, Jack," said Aeryn quietly. "For everything. It's just been . . ."  
  
"I know," said Jack. "It's okay. You're in a strange place with people coming after you. I'd probably do the same in your place." He thought about it and added, "I'm sorry it came to this."  
  
"So this happened with Teal'c? They wanted to cart him off to the farm?" asked John.  
  
"Yeah," said Jack. "It took a good deal of fast talking by General Hammond, but we got our dedicated friends at Area 51 to back off. Still, if it's not one thing with those guys it's another. To them the end justifies any means. Sometimes I feel like we're fighting this war on two fronts."  
  
They didn't say anything but from the way they glanced amongst themselves they understood. Mostly though, they looked tired. John scrubbed his face with his hands. "Yeah," he whispered. Aeryn ran her hand comfortingly over his hair and ended by grasping his hand.  
  
Feeling like he had outstayed his welcome, Jack took his leave and went in search of Daniel and Sam.  
  
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	37. Getting Back to Business

Section 37: Getting Back to Business  
  
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The next morning, after Dr. Frasier had checked over D'argo one last time, the three visitors were called to the briefing room to meet with General Hammond. John wasn't sure what to make of the summons but they didn't really surprise him. The General wouldn't let them just slip away, especially after yesterday's excitement.  
  
When they arrived with Dr. Frasier, Jack and the General were already seated at the long table. The Colonel was even smiling which John took as a good sign as he politely nodded to the General's bright greeting.  
  
"First, I'd like to apologize for yesterday," the General began. "I'm still at a standstill with the Pentagon on whether or not they wish to let you leave, but yesterday's situation has left them rattled enough that their previous orders are now strong suggestions." Hammond gave them a pointed look to let them know that he was going out on a limb for them. "In light of yesterday however, Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Dendron are willing to accept a compromise. Captain D'argo," he went on, "would you be willing to give Dr. Frasier a few blood samples so they may study its properties? I'm not asking you stay," he added hastily, "just to give blood. It will help in our fight against the Goa'uld."  
  
D'argo glanced at John and back to the humans. "Yes," he said. "I'll do that for you. But if you even think about taking me prisoner, I vow I will rip out your throat." John couldn't help grinning; the Luxan always said that. And usually it didn't help.  
  
"Thank you." Hammond turned to the rest of them. "Then as soon as you are ready, you're free to go." At his words, John felt a wave of relief wash through him. Gone was yesterday's hostility. Soon they'd be going home. He just hoped nothing else happened before now and then.  
  
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The blood drive took less time than they expected - just three vials of quickly browning blood and they were on their way to the gateroom. Aeryn kept a wary eye on the halls they walked through, fearing that at any microt another problem would appear that would keep them buried in this mountain. But surprisingly, they made it to the stargate unhindered. However, SG-1 was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp. She knew it had been too easy!  
  
"Didn't think you could just sneak out of here, did you?" asked Jack when the three from Moya stopped short. "Relax, we're just here to send you off."  
  
"We got you a few things, too," said Daniel lifting two green and red wrapped parcels, one in each hand. "Sort of a thank you for getting us back here." Sam and Teal'c were holding other parcels in the same gaudy paper. Aeryn looked at John who was speechless for once in his life.  
  
"Don't open them now," Jack broke the silence. "It'd be all mushy and there'd be paper everywhere. The General hates that." But from his ghost of a smile, Aeryn saw a friend trying to soften the parting. She would miss them, too.  
  
Joining them at the bottom of the ramp, John held out his hand which Jack shook heartily. "Thanks for helping us out," he said.  
  
"Oh, I think we're even" Jack replied. "It's been fun."  
  
"Fun?"  
  
"Well, you know," Jack shrugged. "Aeryn," he shook her hand, too. "Keep that kid of yours safe."  
  
"With my life," she replied. She shook the others' hands, pulled in unexpectedly by Sam for a brief hug and a knowing smile.  
  
"Good luck," the other woman whispered in her ear.  
  
And then the stargate groaned and alarms went off and finally the stargate burst to life. It truly was magnificent. Aeryn glanced around her at the stark gray room and the four people watching them go. They didn't know them well, but well enough.  
  
"Ready?" asked John taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.  
  
Aeryn smiled. "Let's go home." And they stepped through the wormhole.  
  
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"Good people," murmured Daniel as the wormhole disengaged after the three travelers. "I wonder if we'll see them again."  
  
"I doubt it," said Jack. "But they sure made life interesting."  
  
On Jack's other side Sam snorted at the understatement. "I hope they'll be okay."  
  
"They are most resourceful," said Teal'c. "I believe they will be just fine wherever they are."  
  
And with that, the four friends left the gateroom for their long deserved time off.  
  
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Somewhere far from Earth in both distance and reality, after one last fight to take back Lo'la and a jubilant homecoming, John was reading aloud to Aeryn in their room on Moya. "Ellen, English form of Helen, see Helen," he turned a few pages. "Helen, means light."  
  
"No," said Aeryn from where she lounged comfortably against her mate's chest.  
  
"Eleanor," John continued reading from one of the books SG-1 had given them. The book of 20 000 baby names and What to *Expect When Expecting* had been Sam's gift to them. On the other side of the bed lay the Star Wars Trilogy courtesy of Teal'c who had noticed John's tv, and a pile of Dr. Seuss books from Jack and Daniel. D'argo had received *Risk Management for Dummies*, much to John's amusement when he read his friend the title  
  
For now, though, John and Aeryn were content to sit together and think about the future, at least the part they could control. D'argo was resting with Chiana who was still recovering from her injuries. Stark and Norianti were off with their own projects, and Rygel had stopped by to offer his name for consideration. Their ship sufficiently recovered, they were far from the Qujagan system in the emptiness of space. Moya was quiet. They were home. All was good.  
  
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Finished! Finally! I hope you enjoyed it. Now here's my final request. If you would be so kind, tell me your favorite part, favorite line - or most hated of both. Disappointments? Crowning glory? It doesn't have to be long, just one line, it takes two seconds so please let me know what you think.  
  
And did anyone catch the MacGyver, X-Men and random plant references?  
  
Thank you so so much for reading.  
  
Tassos 


End file.
